Saturday, October 6, 2012

Temulentious

Meaning: tending to be intoxicated, drunk

Usefulness: 1 (an appropriate word for a Saturday: "The city was full of temulentious footy fans." "Friday was temulentious, so Saturday was rather slow.")

Logofascination: 1 (temulent is the base, and also gives us temulence, temulency, temulentive, etc.)

In the wild: its well-behaved cousin, abstemious (which used to mean 'not drinking') tends to get all the press.

Degrees: 1

Connections: n/a

Used in: Logopandecteision, Book IV, 64:
"that the Indians were very temulencious Symposiasts : that there is a hudge difference, and almost incredible betwixt the effects of wine moderatly, and immoderatly taken."  
Sir Thomas is (I think) trying to make a point about mythology, so he outlines some myths about Bacchus and then some facts about drinking which (supposedly) parallel them. He's using symposiast here in its original meaning, as a symposium once meant a drinking party (insert joke about conferences here).

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