zaftig [ˈzɑftɪk] a. Also zoftig, zoftick.
1.) Of a woman: plump, curvaceous, 'sexy' (Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Edition).
Etymology: Yiddish, adoption of German saftig, juicy.
"Everyone, without exception, is flummoxed; how could this demure but zoftick freshman, with a brain rivaling Spinoza's encased in the body of a Lollobrigida, have consented to pose in her birthday suit for Leer magazine?" ("The Skin You Love to Watch", S. J. Perelman, 1969).
(La Naissance de Vénus, Alexandre Cabanel, 1863)
I had to go out into the cold to the library to get this quote, I want you to know, gentle readers. (I guess I didn't have to, but I really like it and the googs hasn't digitized the book yet.) Also, be careful: this word is borderline slang. Still, it might be nicely euphemistic in the right circumstances.
6 comments:
Aw, poor you. You had to go to the library. Err, I kind of want to read the rest of the book the quote came from.
Oh, the voice clip doesn't work for me. I don't know if it's because I'm Belgian and it doesn't like me but I guess it doesn't want to talk to me.
What's a little cold compared to spreading knowledge? :)
Her "birthday suit"? That's funny!
zaftig!! Finally a word I can easily remember.
Very nice indeed! The OED says it's N.American colloquial ... so ... is this still used? Do people actually know what it means?
This is one of those Yiddish words that is used often enough in regular speech that even goyim like me know what it means!
Now this is a funny one!
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