surfeit

/ˈsɜː.fɪt/

Etymology

From Middle English surfeite, surfet, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman surfet, surfeit and Old French sorfet, sorfait, past participle of surfaire (“to augment, exaggerate, exceed”), from sur- (“over”) + faire (“to do”). The adjective is derived from the noun.

surfeit means sated; surfeited; filled. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 71 out of 100.

Why this word is great

SURFEIT — [Noun, Verb, Adjective] An excessive amount or overindulgence, especially in food or drink, that leads to discomfort or revulsion; to supply to excess; sated or filled to excess. From Middle English surfeite, from Anglo-Norman surfet, from Old French sorfait, past participle of surfaire ("to overdo"), from sur- ("over-") + faire ("to do"). Unlike "glut," which implies a market swamped by supply, or "satiety," which describes a contented fullness, a surfeit is the cloying aftermath of a wanton breach of limit. It is the third slice of cake that turns to ash on the tongue, the lavish banquet that becomes a chore to behold, the thick honey that coats the throat until it seals it—the precise moment when abundance becomes a prison of its own making, teaching that every appetite contains the seed of its own disgust.

adj

Sated; surfeited; filled.“If it proceed from the third occaſion, which is ſurfeit of Meats and Drinks, either natural or unnatural, then the ſigns are theſe ; […]”

noun

An excessive amount of something.“A surfeit of wheat is driving down the price.”
Overindulgence in either food or drink; overeating.“I feel too much thy blessing: make it [this excess]less, For fear I surfeit! Now comes the sick hour that his surfeit made.”
A sickness or condition caused by overindulgence.“King Henry I is said to have died of a surfeit of lampreys.”
Disgust caused by excess; satiety.“Now for ſimilitudes in certain Printed diſcourſes, I thinke all Herberiſts, all ſtories of beaſts, foules, and fiſhes, are rifled vp, that they may come in multitudes to vvait vpon any of our conceits, which certainly is as abſurd a ſurfet to the eares as is poſsible.”
A group of skunks.

verb

To fill (something) to excess.“You are three men of sin, whom Destiny, That hath to instrument this lower world And what is in’t,—the never-surfeited sea Hath caused to belch up you;”
To feed (someone) to excess (on, upon or with something).“She surfeited her children on sweets.”
To make (someone) sick as a result of overconsumption.“[…] that proportion of meat surfetteth, and surchargeth the stomacks of some, which is not enough to satisfie the hunger of others,”
To supply (someone) with something to excess; to disgust (someone) through overabundance.“1697, Aphra Behn, “On an ungrateful and undeserving Mistress, whom he cou’d not help Loving” in Poems upon Several Occasions, London: Francis Saunders, p. 50, While some glad Rival in her Arms did lye, Glutted with Love and surfeited with Joy.”
To satisfy (someone's appetite) to excess.“[…] his appetite for vulgar praise had not yet been surfeited;”
To overeat or feed to excess (on or upon something).“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”