Word of the Day

: January 29, 2008

Lucullan

adjective loo-KULL-un

What It Means

: lavish, luxurious

Lucullan in Context

The banquet guests were treated to a Lucullan feast in the royal dining room.

Did You Know?

"Lucullan" echoes the name of Roman general Lucius Licinius Lucullus. The general had a distinguished military career (including the defeat of Mithradates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, at Cabira in 72 B.C.), but he is best remembered for the splendor of his opulent retirement. Lucullus established a reputation for magnificent banquets, at which he wined and dined the leading poets, artists, and philosophers of his time. His feasts were sufficiently extravagant to establish a lasting place for his name as a synonym of "lavish" in the English lexicon.