Porkier

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing someone or something as relatively more rotund or fleshy in comparison to another
2. Indicating a comparative level of being stockier or heavier in body size than another person or object
3. Having a greater amount of body fat or a rounder physique compared to another

Etymology: "Porkier" is the comparative of "porky," which is simply "pork" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y," so the comparison is built on the meat's name. The noun "pork" came into English in the Middle Ages from Old French "porc," itself from Latin "porcus," meaning pig, so the root of this family is an animal rather than a cut of meat. The adjective "porky" has a rather different history from its base. Its source is the English word "porky," but the wider ancestry reaches back to Proto-Indo-European roots, and the meaning here is shaped by the word's own English development rather than by any specific story about the adjective's coinage. Once the suffix is in place, the comparative "porkier" follows the regular pattern for two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, swapping the "y" for "ier" to mean "more porky" in comparison with another person or thing.

Synonyms: fatter, plumper

Antonyms: thinner, slimmer