Make Your Point > Archived Issues > GOURMAND
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connect this word to others:
Imagine two restaurants.
One: Bistro Bobette. "Urbane bistro offering French cuisine & wines in a brick-walled space with pale hues & abstract art."
Two: Golden Corral. "American family-style restaurant chain serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, featuring a large all-you-can-eat buffet and grill offering numerous hot and cold dishes, a carving station, and their Brass Bell Bakery." (Known semi-affectionately by my family as Golden Trough.)
Which restaurant attracts gourmets, and which attracts gourmands?
Both groups are devoted lovers of food. Gourmets are all about quality, so they're at the bistro; and gourmands are all about quantity, so they're at the buffet.
You'd think the two terms would be closely related, and they might be, but we don't know enough about where gourmand came from to say for sure. And in fact, the distinction in meaning between the two is blurring.
But if we're being strict and precise about language, the gourmets are the ones sampling the dia___nous (fine, sheer, delicate, and heavenly) hors d'oeuvres, while the gourmands are the ones g____ing (stuffing) themselves on carbs.
Not that I'm judging. I don't turn down unlimited mac and cheese.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"GOURMAND"
Strictly speaking, a gourmand is someone who loves food and eats way too much of it.
But, more loosely, a gourmand can also simply be someone who loves and appreciates food.
Pronunciation:
gore MOND
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "he's quite the gourmand," "it's popular with gourmands."
Other forms:
The plural is "gourmands."
You can also use "gourmand" as an adjective: "these gourmand tourists."
If you need a verb, we've got one, but it's ugly: "gourmandize." "They gourmandized themselves on the roast pig." Sometimes you'll see this spelled without the "u" as "gormandize."
If you need a noun meaning "the love of eating a lot," use "gourmandism," or my preference, "gourmanderie."
How to use it:
When "foodie" feels too casual, pick "gourmand."
In times past, it was an insult. Here's Thackery (1848): "Jos, that fat gourmand, drank up the whole contents of the bowl."
These days, "gourmand" often has a kinder tone. You can refer to someone as a gourmand--or talk about gourmands as a general group--and simply mean that they're enthusiastic about food, not necessarily greedy or overindulgent.
examples:
"There was Jackie Newhouse, the descendant of the great lover, gourmand, violinist and duelist Giacomo Casanova. Jackie Newhouse had, like his notorious ancestor, both broken his share of hearts and eaten his share of great dishes."
— Neil Gaiman, "Sunbird," M is for Magic, 2007
"The city’s gourmands are flocking to supper clubs like Mesabrava, where guest chefs prepare multicourse communal dinners in auction houses and shuttered factories."
— Paola Singer, Travel and Leisure, 6 December 2016
has this page helped you understand "gourmand"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "gourmand" without saying "foodie" or "glutton."
try it out:
Writing for the New York Times, Jon Gluck describes a meal that would please any gourmand:
"Dinner that night was an asado, or traditional Chilean barbecue, of beef ribs, rib eye and flank steaks, pork loin, chicken legs and local sausages, accompanied by boiled potatoes, a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes and yellow bell peppers grown on a nearby farm, and several bottles of Marques de Casa Concha Grand Reserve, a Chilean cabernet sauvignon. Dessert was leche nevada, a classic Chilean sweet dish similar to a French floating island."
He adds, "Just about every meal was similarly fit for a gourmand lumberjack."
Talk about a meal you've had, or a meal you'd love to have, that would also be fit for a gourmand.
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month: Anagrams!
Rearrange the letters in the given word to form a word we've studied before. Try to recall its meaning, too.
For example, if I give you DYED, you give me EDDY. If I give you THREAD, you give me DEARTH. And if I give you COTERIES, you give me ESOTERIC.
Try this one today: FORDED.
Give yourself 5 points if you can figure out the word without clues. To reveal the clues, hover over the blue text below.
Give yourself 4 points if you figure it out after peeking at the part of speech: Noun.
Give yourself 3 points if you figure it out after peeking at the definition: raw material that gets used for some specific purpose.
Give yourself 2 points if you figure it out after peeking at the first letter: F.
Give yourself 1 point if you figure it out after peeking at the first two letters: FO.
And if you'd like to reveal or review the word, click here.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of GOURMANDERIE is
A. ABSTEMIOUSNESS.
B. BUMPTIOUSNESS.
C. CAPACIOUSNESS.
2. My family and I like to invent _____; occasionally, we find our silly inventions have actually been produced and marketed in catalogues for gourmands.
A. useless kitchen appliances, like milk sniffers, banana peelers, and twisty-tie-twisters
B. outlandish garments and accessories, like heated underwear and invisible sunglasses
C. unnecessarily technological gadgets, like radio-controlled toothbrush caddies on wheels
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Imagine two restaurants.
"GOURMAND" Strictly speaking, a gourmand is someone who loves food and eats way too much of it.
"There was Jackie Newhouse, the descendant of the great lover, gourmand, violinist and duelist Giacomo Casanova. Jackie Newhouse had, like his notorious ancestor, both broken his share of hearts and eaten his share of great dishes."
Explain the meaning of "gourmand" without saying "foodie" or "glutton."
Writing for the New York Times, Jon Gluck describes a meal that would please any gourmand:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of GOURMANDERIE is
|