Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 23, 2023 is: scrumptious \SKRUMP-shus\ adjective

Scrumptious is an informal word that is usually used as a synonym of delicious, but can also mean “delightful” or “excellent.”

// [Parsnips](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parsnip) may be an unconventional vegetable to serve on Turkey Day, but they are scrumptious with a little maple syrup drizzled on top.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrumptious)

Examples:

“Need a scrumptious Thanksgiving side dish that will have your holiday guests scrambling for the biggest helping? … This Thanksgiving casserole is more like a dessert than a side dish. It features a rich, silky smooth sweet potato filling that entices the taste buds with cream, butter, pure vanilla extract, and freshly grated nutmeg.” — USA Today, 18 Nov. 2022

Did you know?

First appearing in English in the early 1800s, scrumptious is a mouth-watering word that is used to describe things delightful and delectable. It may have originated as an alteration of [sumptuous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sumptuous), carrying the elegant connotations of its parent, though this is not certain. The Oxford English Dictionary cites a dialect form of the word used to mean “cheap, stingy” as its earliest use, and posits that it could instead have been formed by combining the verb [scrimp](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrimp), meaning “to be frugal or stingy,” with the adjective suffix [-ious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/-ious). ([Scrimption](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scrimption) meaning “a tiny amount or pittance” could be a relation.) How could a word with such a meaning lead to the wholly positive scrumptious? The OED points to a similar path taken by the word [nice](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nice), which began as a word meaning “[wanton](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wanton) or lacking restraint” and is now, well, nice. Regardless, scrumptious today is a fun word to say and play around with, a fact apparent to British author Roald Dahl who used the variation scrumdiddlyumptious in his novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.