Etymologically
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deliciosus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 23 October 2026 at 13:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deː.lɪ.kiˈoː.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [de.li.t͡ʃiˈɔː.s̬us][1]

Forms

dēliciōsus (feminine dēliciōsa, neuter dēliciōsum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dēlicia (“delight, pleasure”) + -ōsus.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first instances in the TLL are in the Latin version of the Shepherd of Hermas and in Donatus' commentary on Terence, of a person given to pleasure.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Late and Christian Latin it described people who were soft and pampered:[3][4] a sermon of Maximus of Turin speaks of a self-indulgent widow,[3] and Rufinus reports the taunt that monks are carnales et deliciosi, “carnal and pleasure-loving”.[3] Of things it meant pleasant and luxurious: a civitas valde deliciosa in the Expositio totius mundi, rich food in the Theodosian Code, a pleasant weariness in Augustine's Confessions.[3][2][5]

Medieval writers used it of a servant dear to his master, as in the law of the Bavarians, and of a trusted favourite: Alcuin was called the emperor's deliciosus.[6][7] The Lombard laws have it for a chamberlain.[6] In British sources it is delightful or delicious, of food and clothing, and of fastidious people.[8] English delicious comes from it through Old French.[9]

Timeline

  • 333 AD – The Theodosian Code uses it of luxurious food.[3]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine speaks of a pleasant weariness.[2][3][10]
  • before 743 – The law of the Bavarians, of a servant dear to his lord.[6][10]
  • c. 1300 – English delicious, through Old French.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of people: given to pleasure, voluptuous, soft, pampered.[3][2][4][11]
  2. Of things: delightful, pleasant; delicious, exquisite; luxurious.[3][5][8][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Dear, trusted, favoured; as a noun, a favourite.[6][7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) As a noun, a chamberlain.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  11. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson