Sultry
/ˈsʌl.tri/noun
Hot and humid, or sexually suggestive in a slow, intense way.
Did you know?The word likely grew out of an older sense meaning “oppressively hot,” and its seductive meaning is a later poetic extension of that suffocating heat.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
sūl
“sun, heat, or sultry weather”
Middle English
ME
sultry
“oppressively hot or close”
16th Century
English
sultry
“hot, sweltering, and airless”
18th Century
English
sultry
“heated in a way that suggests languid sensuality”
Modern English
English
sultry
“hot and humid, or suggestively passionate”