bibulous means very absorbent. It carries an Arena rating of 1937, earned across 21 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bibulous ranks #861 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #2,021 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,334 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #3,695 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
bibulous is pronounced /ˈbɪb.jʊ.ləs/.
Why “bibulous” is a great word
Given to or marked by the consumption of alcoholic drink, or possessing a high capacity for absorption. From Latin bibulus ('drinking readily, absorbent'), from bibere ('to drink') + the adjectival suffix -ulus, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *peh₃- ('to drink'). Unlike 'crapulous,' which names the sour aftermath of overindulgence, or the neutral 'absorbent,' which merely describes a physical property, bibulous implies thirst as both habit and nature. It is the swelling sponge in a laboratory sink, the creeping blotter on a clerk's desk, the quiet figure at the bar whose thirst is a character trait. The word itself drinks deeply of its own history, carrying the quiet ruin of too many refills.
Etymology
From Latin bibulus from bibō (“drink”) + -ulus from Proto-Italic *pibō, from Proto-Indo-European *píph₃eti, from root *peh₃- (“drink”); whence also imbibe and beverage via Old French beivre.
adj
- Very absorbent.e.g.“Wearing gloves and chemical eye protection, cover the smear with a strip of bibulous paper cut slightly smaller than the slide.” — 2015, Michael J. Leboffe, Microbiology: Laboratory Theory and Application, page 217:
- Given to or marked by the consumption of alcoholic drink.e.g.“At first he was closely confined there, but one day he broke the privy window and escaped to Shehad, the bibulous Emir, in his suburb of Awali.” — 1926, T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, New York: Anchor, published 1991, page 155:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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