gourmand

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ɡʊrˈmɑnd/ UK /ˈɡʊəmənd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a person who enjoys eating, often to excess

As a gourmand he toured the country sampling every regional dish.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who enjoys eating,... glutton gorger epicuregastronomegormandizertrencherman

Opposites

ascetic

Word family

Derived forms gourmandizegourmandism

Related forms gourmet

Etymology

From Middle French gourmand ('glutton'), of uncertain origin, possibly related to Old French gourmet ('wine-taster, servant'); the original sense was 'glutton', later softening toward 'lover of good food'.

gourmand Middle French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# gourmand

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɡʊrˈmɑnd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡʊəmənd/

## Meanings
1. a person who enjoys eating, often to excess

## Examples
- As a gourmand he toured the country sampling every regional dish.

## Synonyms
- glutton
- gorger
- epicure
- gastronome
- gormandizer
- trencherman

## Antonyms
- ascetic

## Derived Forms
- gourmandize
- gourmandism

## Related Forms
- gourmet

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gourmand

## Etymology
From Middle French gourmand ('glutton'), of uncertain origin, possibly related to Old French gourmet ('wine-taster, servant'); the original sense was 'glutton', later softening toward 'lover of good food'.

## AI Etymology
Gourmand comes from Middle French gourmand ('glutton'), of uncertain origin, possibly related to Old French gourmet ('wine-taster, servant'); the original sense was 'glutton', later softening toward 'lover of good food'. The history is deliberately cautious: the proposed comparison is useful for orientation, but the wording leaves room for uncertainty rather than forcing a false certainty. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "a person who enjoys eating, often to excess", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as gourmandize and gourmandism and related forms such as gourmet, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Middle French gourmand, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- People & Society

markdown