Voluptuousness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state of experiencing or embodying rich sensory pleasure and luxurious desire
2. A characteristic that evokes sensual delight through abundance and physical allure
3. The condition of having a richly rounded and attractive shape ; the feature of being appealing in a sensuous, sexual manner ; the quality of providing great enjoyment through sensory indulgence

Etymology: The word is simply voluptuous with the suffix -ness added, so its real story runs through the adjective. "Voluptuous" comes from Latin "voluptuosus," full of pleasure, built on "voluptas," delight, which also gave English "voluptuary." The Latin root sits behind a family of words for enjoyment and gratification, and the adjective reached English from French, where it was already a close cousin of the Latin original. The suffix does the rest. "-ness" is one of English's oldest working endings, descending from Old English "-nes," and it turns a quality into a noun naming the state of having that quality. Its ancestry reaches back into the Germanic languages, where it marked abstract nouns formed from adjectives. Attaching it to "voluptuous" produced a noun for the condition of being given over to sensual pleasure, a sense that the adjective alone does not name directly.

Synonyms: sensuality, luxuriance, fullness

Antonyms: asceticism, self-denial