pulchritude

English

Etymology

From Middle English pulcritude, from Latin pulchritūdō, from pulcher (“beautiful”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: pŭlʹkrĭ-tūdʹ
• IPA^(key): /pʌlkrə.t(j)uːd/
• (UK) IPA^(key): [ˈpʰʌɫkɹəˌtjuːd]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): [ˈpʰʌɫkɹəˌtuːd]

Noun

pulchritude (usually uncountable, plural pulchritudes)

1. Physical beauty.
   • 1978, Charles D. Benson and William Barnaby Faherty, Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations, NASA Special Publication 4204, 1978, ch. 4 [1]

     One participant recalls arriving at his Cocoa Beach motel on a Saturday evening with the Miss Universe contest on TV. To his wife's amazement, his interest in feminine pulchritude gave way to fatigue, and he was asleep before the final selection.

   • 1979, The Jerk, 00:18:20:

     Do you know why a woman of such pulchritude is married to me? 'Cause I make a comfortable living.

   Synonym: comeliness

Derived terms

• pulchritudinous

Translations

pulchritude

• Chinese: 體態美／体态美
• Dutch: schoonheid (nl)
• French: vénusté (fr) f, beauté (fr) f
• German: Schönheit (de) f
• Italian: pulcritudine f, venustà (it) f
• Japanese: 肉体美
• Portuguese: beleza (pt)
• Russian: красота́ (ru) f (krasotá)