- Today's Word
Multifarious
mul-tuh-FAIR-ee-uhs
Definition
- (adjective) Having great variety or diversity; numerous and varied.
Example
The multifarious talents of the artist ranged from painting to composing music and designing sculptures.
Fun Fact
“Multifarious” stems from the Latin multifarius, meaning “having many parts.” It has been used in English since the 17th century to emphasize variety and richness. The term is often employed to highlight the complexity of ideas, cultures, or individual abilities.
(noun) A person who takes excessive pleasure in eating and drinking, often to the point of overindulgence.
The restaurant critic was a gourmand in the truest sense — not merely knowledgeable about food but physically incapable of leaving anything on the plate.
Gourmand comes from the Old French gourmant, meaning “glutton” or “one who eats greedily,” of uncertain further origin. It entered English in the 15th century carrying its French sense of someone defined by appetite rather than discernment. The word is frequently confused with gourmet — a person of refined culinary taste — but the distinction is meaningful: a gourmet selects carefully and savors deliberately, while a gourmand simply wants more. One is defined by quality, the other by quantity.