What does crapulence mean?
Crapulence is a formal English noun denoting the sickness or discomfort brought on by excessive drinking — in effect, a hangover described in elevated terms. By extension, it can also refer to the act of overindulging in alcohol (and occasionally food), capturing both the excess itself and its unpleasant aftermath. The word derives ultimately from the Greek 'kraipalē', meaning hangover or drunken headache, which passed into Latin as 'crapula' before entering English in the seventeenth century alongside its adjective forms 'crapulent' and 'crapulous'. Because of its Latinate pedigree, crapulence sounds far grander than the condition it describes, and modern writers frequently deploy it for humorous or satirical effect — describing, for instance, the collective crapulence following a festive season. Though rare in ordinary conversation, it remains a precise and memorable term for the consequences of intemperance, and it should not be confused with the visually similar 'corpulence', which refers simply to being overweight.
nounSickness or indisposition caused by excessive drinking; more broadly, immoderate indulgence in drink (and sometimes food).
- Illness or physical discomfort resulting from excessive drinking; a hangover-like state.
- Excessive indulgence in drinking (or, by extension, eating); intemperance itself.
"After the New Year's Eve festivities, he spent the first of January nursing a headache brought on by pure crapulence."
"The physician dryly diagnosed his patient's ailment as nothing more than holiday crapulence."
"The novel paints the aristocracy's endless banquets and wine-soaked evenings as scenes of quiet, respectable crapulence."
The plural is rare; crapulence is typically treated as an uncountable mass noun referring to a general state or condition.
"The diaries record the count's repeated crapulences across decades of lavish entertaining."
Crapulence comes straight from the Greek 'kraipalē', meaning a hangover — making it one of the few English words whose very root is a bad night out.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crapulence
Crapulence traces back to the Greek 'kraipalē', meaning hangover or the throbbing head that follows heavy drinking. The word was borrowed into Latin as 'crapula', referring to intoxication and its after-effects, and from there entered English in the early seventeenth century, giving rise to the adjective forms 'crapulent' and 'crapulous'. It thus belongs to a small family of English words whose ultimate ancestor is literally a term for a hangover.
Related word forms
How crapulence is actually used
Crapulence is a formal, somewhat rare, and often humorous or ironic literary term rather than everyday vocabulary. It carries a mildly pejorative, disapproving connotation, though its Latinate grandeur lends it a comic dignity that writers sometimes exploit for satirical effect.
Easily confused with crapulence
Corpulence means bodily fatness or obesity, whereas crapulence refers to illness or excess caused by overindulgence in drink — despite their similar spellings.