Blog # 8

I remember exactly where I was and what I was thinking when the word "corpulent" was spoken to me. My sister, embroiled in the turmoil of junior year, and attempting to understand her English lesson by teaching me, described the denotation and connotation of the word so clearly I remember each vividly to this day: "Corpulent means fat, but not just fat. It means extremely obese, corrupt and evil, even. I mean, the root of the word is corpse." I immediately imagined a corrupt 19th Century British judge, fat from overindulgence in himself, skin pasty white, and a smile that showed his erection was not from lust towards women- it was for himself. I imagined something you might see Sweeney Todd murdering, in revenge, in the classic macabre musical. In effect, I imagined the demon of gluttony.

Corpulent isn't just fat- it is the extreme of fat, beyond obese or swollen. Corpulent doesn't only describe your weight, it describes your personality, your trustworthiness, and your self-indulgence. The ultimate power of the connotation of the word "corpulent" is that it describes a whole person completely, while still only commenting on one trait.