crapulous

adjective

crap·​u·​lous ˈkra-pyə-ləs 

1

: marked by intemperance especially in eating or drinking

2

: sick from excessive indulgence in liquor

Did you know?

Crapulous may sound like a word that you shouldn't use in polite company, but it actually has a long and perfectly respectable history (although it's not a particularly kind way to describe someone). It is derived from the Late Latin adjective crapulosus, which, in turn, traces back to the Latin word crapula, meaning "intoxication." (The decidedly impolite word crap is unrelated; it comes from a British dialect term meaning "residue from rendered fat.") Crapula itself comes from a much older Greek word for the headache one gets from drinking too much alcohol. Crapulous first appeared in print in the 1530s. Approximately 200 years later, its close cousin crapulence arrived on the scene as a word for sickness caused by excessive drinking. Crapulence later acquired the meaning "great intemperance especially in drinking," but it is not an especially common word.

Synonyms

• drunken

Examples of crapulous in a Sentence

a crapulous wastrel who went through the family's once-fabulous fortune in less than a decade

Recent Examples on the Web

The memory ends with the image of my friend squatting, crapulous, and dumping her purse on the sidewalk. —Justin Torres, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2021

Researchers have recently taken a closer look at the role of the immune system in provoking those crapulous mornings. —Jesse Hawley, Discover Magazine, 17 Mar. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin crapulosus, from Latin crapula intoxication, from Greek kraipalē

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Medical Definition

crapulous

adjective

crap·​u·​lous ˈkrap-yə-ləs 

1

: marked by intemperance especially in eating or drinking

2

: sick from excessive indulgence in liquor