scrumptious

Definition

Of food: delectable, delicious.

Etymology

Probably from scrimp (“to put on short allowance, limit, straiten; to be frugal”) + -ious (suffix forming adjectives denoting the presence of a quality in any degree (usually an abundance)), possibly modelled after scrimption (“small portion, little bit, scrap”). Douglas Harper instead derives the word from sumptuous. As the early cites in British English have a clearly different sense from the early cites in American English, only to merge together later, it may be that there were originally two unrelated words.

Example Sentences

• "What a scrumptious treat!"
• "[…] I came here to have a wink at the fash'nables—hang me, if ever I see such a scrumptious lot."
• "Barbara Cartland scratched out this trusty 19th-century romancer concerning the scrumptious Serena Staverly (Diana Rigg), who has the dreadful misfortune to be lost in a game of cards to the flint-hearted Lord Justin."

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