It’s nice to use sweet words to described our loved ones. No doubt many men have called their wives “beautiful”, “pretty”, or “captivating”. There are many sweet ways of describing a person’s physical beauty, and some are truly poetic. But some are better left in the dictionary, such as today’s gem: pulchritudinous.
Meaning: someone with deep beauty or comeliness; having great physical attractiveness. This word is only used to describe physical human beauty.
Origin: from pulcher (Latin), meaning “beautiful”, plus -tudo (Latin), which is a suffix indicating a state or condition.
Example: “My darling, you are the most pulchritudinous woman in the whole world.”
I cannot remember where I read this word, but I can safely say I have never heard it in speech, either in day-to-day conversation or on film. The English language is so varied, it gives us many opportunities to weave words together to say something beautiful to the special person in our life. But please, take my advice: if you really care about your significant other, don’t call her pulchritudinous. Even if she knows what it means, it sounds like you’re calling her a monster.