crapulous

English

WOTD – 15 January 2006

Etymology

From late Middle English crapulous, from Latin crapulosus (“drunken”), from crapula (“intoxication”), from Ancient Greek κραιπάλη (kraipálē, “intoxication, hangover”). Compare French crapuleux.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɹæpjʊləs/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æpjʊləs

Adjective

crapulous (comparative more crapulous, superlative most crapulous)

1. Characterized by excessive eating or drinking.

   Synonyms: debauched, intemperate

   • 2021, “Retired Janitors of Idaho” (21:47 from the start), in Succession, season 3, episode 5, spoken by Ewan Roy (James Cromwell):

     Now I hear that you've dispensed with Roger's services, presumably to throw your lot in with my brother and his gang of crapulous shills.

2. Suffering physically from the consequences of excessive eating or drinking.
3. Surcharged with liquor; sick from excessive indulgence in drinking or eating.

   Synonyms: crapulent, drunk, wamble-cropped; see also Thesaurus:nauseated, Thesaurus:drunk

   • 1946, Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan:

     By the time Swelter's monologue was dragging to its crapulous close, Mr. Flay was pacing onwards […]

Related terms

• crapula
• crapulence
• crapulent
• crapulously
• crapulousness

Translations

characterized by excessive eating or drinking

• Finnish: mässäilevä (fi)

suffering from the consequences of excessive eating or drinking

• Bulgarian: махмурлия (bg) (mahmurlija)
• Finnish: krapulainen (fi) (having hangover), humalainen (fi) (drunk), ylensyönyt (overeaten)
• Serbo-Croatian: mamurluk (sh), prežderanost (sh)

Further reading

• “crapulous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “crapulous”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.