Juicy

How to spell juicy

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce juicy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does juicy mean?

1. adjectiveContaining a lot of juice; succulent and moist.
2. adjectiveRichly interesting, scandalous, or tempting, especially of gossip or details.

Juicy in a sentence

• The ripe peach was sweet and juicy.

• The memoir was full of juicy details about the company's founders.

• She sliced into a thick, juicy steak.

• Reporters chased every juicy rumour about the celebrity wedding.

Where does juicy come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word grows out of 'juice', which English borrowed in the 1200s from Old French 'jus', meaning the liquid drawn from fruit, herbs, or meat. That Old French word came in turn from Latin 'ius', which literally meant broth, sauce, or gravy, the savoury liquid in cooking. By the late 1300s English speakers had attached the native adjective ending '-y', meaning 'full of' or 'characterised by', to form 'juicy', simply 'abounding in juice'. The figurative sense, describing gossip or details as tempting and richly satisfying, developed much later, drawing on the idea of something lush and full of flavour. The spelling trap sits in the middle: the 'ce' of 'juice' softens to a plain 'c' that sounds like 's', and the final silent 'e' is dropped before adding '-y'.

How the word is built

• juice (from Latin ius: broth, sauce, juice)
• -y (adjective suffix meaning 'full of')