Pronounced: ROH-lund, noun
Notes: I’ve run across this word in reading, but didn’t know the word
Yesterday’s word
The word embonpoint is “plumpness of a person; stoutness”
First usage
The word goes back to the 1600s
Background / Comments
I ran across this word years ago when I was in high school or early college. Because I was so completely wrong about the meaning, this is a word I have not forgotten. As you can tell by the pronunciation, it is a French word; specifically, it comes from Middle French en bon point (in good condition). Our word is commonly used to describe heavier people, but not unattractive. It has been used by notable writers Jame Fenimore Cooper, George Eliot, and Charlotte Brontë. However, I just ran across it in a mystery short story in a magazine of mystery stories.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 