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Word of the Day: Surfeit

Surfeit

ˈsərfət

NOUN

An excessive amount of something.

VERB

Cause (someone) to desire no more of something as a result of having consumed or done it to excess.

Consume too much of something.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

“The family talked about my aunt’s wedding reception — complete with buffet tables piled with a surfeit of delicacies — for months.”

“After five days at the amusement park, I’m surfeited with roller coasters.”

“His strict diet prevents him from surfeiting on rich foods.”

Word Origin: French, late 14th century

WHY THIS WORD?

The word “surfeit” comes from a mashup of two Latin words: “super-” (“above” or “in excess”) and “facere” (“do”). When used as a noun, “surfeit” is applied to amounts of excess. An overindulgence at the dinner table is a surfeit of food, and a shopping spree is a surfeit of spending. When used as a verb, there are slightly different definitions based on whether “surfeit” is used with an object. With an object, it means someone is sated after consuming or doing something to excess. For example, “I am surfeited with pizza since we’ve ordered it every night this week.” When the object is dropped, the verb “surfeit” means to consume too much of something to the point of overindulgence.

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