• satiety •
Pronunciation: sê-tai-ê-tee • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun, mass (no plural)
Meaning: A state of being glutted, very full or too full, oversatisfaction, surfeit.
Notes: This Good Word is the rather odd noun related to both sate "to glut" and its synonym satiate. The pronunciation of satiety is also a bit odd, so keep a sharp ear out for it.
In Play: The meaning of this noun and its verbs actually varies from total satisfaction to oversatisfaction: "I think I'll forego seconds; I don't want to eat beyond satiety before dessert." However, more than enough of anything qualifies for this Good Word: "I'm afraid my satiety level for incompetence is pretty low."
Word History: The source of today's Good Word is satiété, the French version of Latin satietas "sufficient" from satis "sufficient". We find this word in satisfaction, the original meaning of which was "make sufficient". We also find this word in the Vulgar (Street) Latin phrase ad satis "to sufficiency", which was reanalyzed as the single word asetz in the French spoken in England under Norman rule (1066-1164). This word went on to become asset; in French the same word turned out to be assez "enough". (We will never reach satiety of Good Word suggestions like this one from Nell Bludworth—a real asset for our series.)