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delectable

UK/dɪˈlɛktəbəl/
adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,426 of 15,258leans spoken

Delectable means absolutely delicious. A delectable meal, delectable smell, quite delectable.

It is a step above delicious in tone rather than in degree — the word is fancier, and using it seriously about a sandwich is faintly comic. It is also used of people, where it is dated and objectifying. Note delight and delectation, which come from the same Latin verb meaning to charm.

Definitions of delectable

  1. 1adjectivedelectableAbsolutely delicious.C1

    “The bakery window was full of delectable cakes and pastries.”

    synonyms: delicious, luscious

delectable is a quality of deliciousness.

Where it comes from

Old French delectable comes from Latin delectare, to delight. Delight and dilettante come from the same charming.

  1. Medieval Latin

    delectare — to delight

  2. Old French

    delectable

  3. Middle French

    délectable

  4. Middle English

    delectable

  5. English, today

    delectable

From Middle English delectable, from Middle French délectable, from Old French delectable, from Medieval Latin delectare (“to delight”). by surface analysis, delect + -able. delightable.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Smell & Taste

Practise this word

delectable in the wild

  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described the play as "quirky" yet "delectable".

    The Mistress of Wholesome

  • Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network called Buriki's character designs for the Haganai anime "delectable in close".

    Buriki

  • Tyohaar Ki Thaali is a show that offers a delectable mix of stories and recipes hosted by Sakshi Tanwar.

    Tyohaar Ki Thaali

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.