As I write this column, I am anticipating some scrumptious Easter goodies that the Easter Bunny will place in my basket on Sunday. By the time you read this article I will probably have consumed more than I should have devoured of the scrumptious chocolates and gummies I am awaiting. Of course, my favourite is a scrumptious cream filled chocolate egg.
Scrumptious entered the English language in the 1830s with a meaning of delightful and delicious. The word may have originated as an alteration of the word sumptuous. Sumptuous describes things that can only be had at some significant expense. This is derived from the Latin word sumptus, meaning expense. Scrumptious could have morphed from sumptuous with the idea that anything so delicious must be extremely costly, rich, or luxurious.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, another possible source could be a dialect form of scrimptious, meaning a tiny amount or pittance. Scrimptious was formed from the Latin verb scrimp, meaning to be frugal or stingy. But that would flip the meaning from a negative thought to a positive idea. However, something similar happened to the word nice. When nice came into English in the 14th century, it meant wanton or lacking restraint. By the mid-16th century nice morphed into meaning pleasing, appropriate, and kind. So too, scrumptious may have flipped the meaning of scrimptious.
As a made-up word scrumptious has been played around with to form scrumdiddlyumptious. The word was popularized by Roald Dahl (1916-1990) when he published Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1964. Willy Wonka says, ‘Don't you know what this is? It's Wonka's latest and greatest invention — it's a candy that can never be duplicated. They call it a 'Scrumdiddlyumptious Bar.” Scrumdiddlyumptious means extremely scrumptious. The earliest known use of the word is in the 1940s, when lexicographer Lester V. Berrey wrote that scrumdiddlyumptious is a variant or alteration of scrumptious. On the TV show The Simpsons, Ned Flanders has been known to use scrumdiddlyumptious. “Hey, Homer, a dab of the salsa would really make our nachos scrum-diddly-umptious!”
Synonyms to scrumptious are ambrosial, delectable, mouthwatering, succulent, and yummy.
Ambrosia was used in English in the 1400s to describe the food of the Greek and Roman gods. It then was used to describe anything extremely pleasing to taste or smell. The adjectival form became ambrosial. Her jam was ambrosial, syrupy with honeyed fruit, and scented with elderflower so her shop was full of ambrosial smells.
Delectable implies something that is highly pleasing. The sashimi the Japanese chef prepares are always delectable meals.
Beginning in 1897 mouthwatering described food that aroused the appetite. The local bakery presented an eye-catching display of mouthwatering cakes and pastries.
Succulent implies food that is moist and tasty and plants that have fleshy tissues that conserve moisture. We have bought purple grapes on our Japan trips that are so plump and succulent that price was no object. Well, it was only after we purchased them that we realized the marked price was not for the cluster but per 100 grams. We ate them sparingly when we figured out the price per succulent grape.
Yummy means highly attractive or pleasing. Patti always bakes hot cross buns for Easter weekend that are very yummy to consume.
Scrumptious has also been used to describe more than food. Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) described her most famous character, Anne of Green Gables, as “she has curly red hair and big jolly brown eyes and scrumptious freckles.”
I find that Easter is always full of scrumptious things, both in foodstuff and in spiritual concepts. Blessed Easter!
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
