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glut·ton

(glŭtn)

1. A person who eats or consumes immoderate amounts of food and drink.

2. A person with an inordinate capacity to receive or withstand something: a glutton for punishment.

3. See wolverine.

[Middle English glotoun, from Old French gloton, from Latin gluttō, gluttōn-. Sense 3, ultimately (perhaps via French glouton and German Vielfrass, glutton, wolverine) from translation of Middle Low German vilvraz, glutton, wolverine : vil, much + vraz, eater (the word vilvraz, glutton, perhaps being applied to the wolverine partly in reference to its reputation for voraciousness and partly as a folk-etymological loan translation of Old Swedish filfras, wolverine : fil, hill in the wilderness + fras, tomcat).]

glutton·ous (glŭtn-əs) adj.

glutton·ous·ly adv.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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