Plethoric

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈplɛθəɹɪk/, /plɛˈθɒɹɪk/

Origin

From Late Latin plethoricus, from Hellenistic Ancient Greek πληθωρικός, from πληθώρα ("plethora").

Full definition of plethoric

Adjective

1. (medicine) Suffering from plethora; ruddy in complexion, congested or swollen with blood. from 14th c.
• 1941, W Somerset Maugham, Up at the Villa, Vintage 2004, p. 81:Harold Atkinson, her host, was a fine handsome grey-haired man, plethoric and somewhat corpulent, with an eye for a pretty woman ….
2. Excessive, overabundant, rife; loosely, abundant, varied. from 17th c.
• 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, p. 161:the judges ... were arranging their robes and coughing into their fists, the ebb and flow of their plethoric wigs like a flock of sheep on the run.

Related terms

• plethora