epicure

epicure
\ \ [16] The Greek philosopher Epicurus (Greek Epíkouros) (341–270 BC) evolved a code of life and behaviour which stressed the avoidance of pain, but since his time it has been stood on its head to signify the active seeking of pleasure – and particularly the pleasures of the table. Indeed, when the word epicure (which arrived via Latin epicūrus) was introduced into English it was even used for a ‘glutton’ – since toned down somewhat to ‘connoisseur of fine food and wine’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Epicure — Épicure Pour les articles homonymes, voir Epicure (homonymie). Épicure (Ἐπίκουρος) Philosophe Grec Antiquité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • ÉPICURE — Quand Épicure fonda son école à Athènes, en 306 avant J. C., la vie culturelle de la Grèce était dominée par les deux grandes écoles qui avaient recueilli l’héritage de Platon et d’Aristote: l’Académie et le Lycée. Épicure eut clairement… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • epicure — epicure, gourmet, gourmand, glutton, bon vivant, gastronome mean one who takes pleasure in eating and drinking. An epicure is one who is choice and fastidious while at the same time voluptuous in enjoyment of food and drink; the term is also… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • epicure — [ep′i kyoor΄] n. [< L Epicurus < Gr Epikouros: see EPICURUS] 1. a person who enjoys and has a discriminating taste for fine foods and drinks 2. Archaic a person who is especially fond of luxury and sensuous pleasure SYN. an EPICURE is a… …   English World dictionary

  • Epicure — Ep i*cure, n. [L. Epicurus, Gr. ?, a famous Greek philosopher, who has been regarded, but erroneously, as teaching a doctrine of refined voluptuousness.] 1. A follower of Epicurus; an Epicurean. [Obs.] Bacon. [1913 Webster] 2. One devoted to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Epicure — ÉPICURE: Le mépriser …   Dictionnaire des idées reçues

  • epicure — late 14c., follower of Epicurus, from L. Epicurus, from Gk. Epicouros (341 270 B.C.E.), Athenian philosopher who taught that pleasure is the highest good and identified virtue as the greatest pleasure; the first lesson recalled, the second… …   Etymology dictionary

  • epicure — [n] gourmet bon vivant, connoisseur, Epicurean, gastronome, gastronomer, gastronomist, gourmand; concepts 348,423 …   New thesaurus

  • epicure — ► NOUN ▪ a person who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink. ORIGIN from Epicurus (see EPICUREAN(Cf. ↑Epicureanism)) …   English terms dictionary

  • Épicure — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Épicure (homonymie). Épicure (Ἐπίκουρος) Philosophe Grec Antiquité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • épicure — (é pi ku r ) s. m. Nom d un philosophe grec, né dans l Attique l an 342 avant J. C., qui niait que les dieux eussent aucune providence, rattachait la formation des choses à la rencontre des atomes, et faisait consister le bonheur dans la volupté …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

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