Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- the philosophical system or doctrine of Epicurus, holding that the external world is a series of fortuitous combinations of atoms and that the highest good is pleasure, interpreted as freedom from disturbance or pain.
- (lowercase) epicurean indulgence or habits.
1751, with reference to a philosophy; 1847 in a general sense, from epicurean + -ism. Earlier was epicurism (1570s).
A form of hedonism defended by several philosophers of ancient Greece. For the Epicureans, the proper goal of action was pleasure — a long-term pleasure, marked by serenity and temperance.