Etymologically
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careful

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 22:54. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈkeə.fəl/, US /ˈker.fəl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English carful, cearful, formed from caru, cearu “care, sorrow”, the source of care, and -ful.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Full of grief, mournful, sorrowful”, and “full of care or anxiety”: before 1000 in the OED.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “applying attention, painstaking”, the main modern one, is from late Old English,[2] about 1050 in the OED,[5] and “taking good care of” is also from before 1000.[5] In Middle English it also meant miserable or unfortunate, and of things causing fear, dreadful;[2][5] a careful-bed was a sickbed and careful-day the day of judgement.[2] The sense of grief died out in the early 18th century,[4] and “anxious, troubled” is now archaic.[4][6] “Cautious, on one's guard” is from 1580,[5] and of things, done with care, from 1651.[5] Johnson in 1755 gave first “anxious; solicitous; full of concern”, quoting “Martha, thou art careful”.[7]

Timeline

  • a. 1000 – mournful; anxious.[5]
  • c. 1050 – painstaking.[5]
  • c. 1200 – of things, sorrowful.[5]
  • 1580 – cautious.[5]
  • 1651 – done with care.[5]
  • early 18th century – sorrowful sense obsolete.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Attentive to possible danger, error or harm; cautious.
  2. Thorough and painstaking; conscientious.
  3. Protective or concerned: careful of others' feelings.
  4. (archaic) Full of cares; anxious.

Word family

  • carefully
  • carefulness

Usage notes

The American Heritage groups careful with heedful, mindful, observant, watchful and meticulous, all meaning “cautiously attentive”.[8]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin