galumptious

[prettygoodword]

Back to a second week of words from Green's Dictionary of Slang, picking up with the letter G:


galumptious, more commonly goloptious or goluptious, and also galluptious, galloptious, galopshus, galoptious, galotious, golluptious, and golopshious - adj., delicious, splendid, voluptuous.


Early Victorian slang, first appearing around 1850. I have actually encountered this one in the wild, in school stories from the early 20th century, though it looks like it was starting to go out of fashion at that point. Etymology unknown, possibly an alteration of voluptuous, possibly onomatopoetic of smacking one’s lips.

Bonus word: goffel

---L.

Comments

[ranunculus]

My Mom (b 1915) used to call my childish running around the house "galumphing" around. Apparently from "galumph" "To run clumsily or heavily".
The way galumptious feels in the mouth I can certainly understand if it became an alternative name for volumptuous.

[prettygoodword]

Fun fact: galumph was coined by Lewis Carroll, in "The Jabberwocky".

[conuly]

IIRC, it's a combination of "gallant" and "triumphant".

[larryhammer]

That's the common speculation, yah -- Carroll himself seems never to have confirmed this.

[ranunculus]

Too bad it isn't used more these days!

[med_cat]

A fun word and one I hadn't encountered before, thanks

[prettygoodword]

I have, but I also like to read kids books from a century ago.