full

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fʊl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English ful, inherited from Old English full,^[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *fullaz, earlier *fulnaz.^[3][4] Its Germanic cognates are Old Frisian full, Old Saxon full, Dutch vol, Old High German fol (modern German voll), Old Norse fullr and Gothic 𐍆𐌿𐌻𐌻𐍃 (fulls).^[3][5] The Germanic -ll- continues an older -ln- (compare Lithuanian pilnas),^[6] from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥nós (“filled, full”),^[4][7] from the root *pelə- (“to fill”).^[8][9] Outside Germanic it is related to Latin plēnus (“full”), Ancient Greek πλήρης (plḗrēs, “full”), Old Irish lán (“full”) and Sanskrit पूर्ण (pūrṇá, “full”).^[6][7][10] The verb meaning “to thicken cloth” is a different word, from Old French fouler (“to trample, press”), from Latin fullō (“fuller”), of unknown origin.^[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adverb, “very, fully” (before 899, in King Alfred's translation of Boethius); as an adjective, “complete, full” (917, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).^[6]

Semantic evolution

In Old English full already meant “containing all that can be held”, “having eaten or drunk enough” and “perfect, entire”.^[8] The adverb “very, entirely” was common in Middle English (full well, full many),^[8][11] and Weekley thought it survived mainly through Gray's Elegy.^[11] From the 1580s the adverb also meant “exactly, directly” (full in the face).^[8] Full moon is Old English,^[8][6] and full of “abounding in” is also recorded before 1000.^[12] The slang sense “drunk” is recorded from the 16th century and later became mainly Australian.^[13][14] South African English used full of for “covered with” (full of mud), under the influence of Afrikaans vol; this use was once also British.^[15] Compounds include full-grown (1667, in Milton's Paradise Lost), full dress (1761) and full blast (1839, American).^[6] A full house was a full theatre from 1710 and a poker hand from 1887.^[8]

Timeline

• before 899 – adverb full, very, fully (Alfred).^[6]
• 917 – adjective full (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).^[6]
• before 1000 – full moon.^[6]
• c. 1300 – of the heart, overcharged with emotion.^[12]
• 1529 – of an account, detailed.^[13]
• 1554 – drunk.^[13]
• 1580s – adverb, exactly, directly.^[8]
• 1667 – full-grown (Milton).^[6]
• 1710 – full house in the theatre.^[8]
• 1761 – full dress.^[8][6]
• 1794 – verb, of the moon, to become full.^[16]
• 1887 – full house in poker.^[8]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Holding as much as possible; having no empty space.
2. Having eaten as much as one can.
3. Complete, with nothing left out: a full account.
4. Of the greatest degree: at full speed.
5. Having a great number or quantity: full of mistakes.
6. Having all rights or privileges: a full member.
7. Rounded, plump: a full face.
8. Of clothes, made with a generous amount of fabric.
9. (Australian slang) Drunk.

Adverb

1. Completely, entirely.
2. Exactly, directly: hit him full in the face.
3. (archaic) Very: full well.

Noun

1. The greatest extent or degree: enjoy life to the full.

Verb

1. (sewing) To gather or pleat (fabric).
2. Of the moon, to become full.

Word family

• fullness
• full-grown
• fuller
• fuller's earth

Related words

• -ful
• fill
• fulfil
• fulsome
• plenty
• plenary

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
14. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
15. ^ A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles, Dictionary Unit for South African English, https://dsae.co.za
16. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster