Etymologically
Log in

handsome

Etymology and origin of the English word handsome

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1400

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhæn.səm/, /ˈhænd.səm/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from hand and the suffix -some;[2][3][4] MWU suggests it may be from an assumed Middle Dutch handsaem, compare Dutch handzaam (“tractable”).[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Easy to handle, ready at hand: probably before 1400, in the Morte Arthur, in Barnhart;[2] about 1435 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

Handy, convenient or suitable is from 1530, and apt or clever in the 16th century.[2][6][7] Of fair size, considerable, as a handsome sum, is from 1577,[2] and having a fine form, good-looking, from 1590, in Spenser's Faerie Queene.[2] Generous or magnanimous is from the 1680s.[3][2] The proverb handsome is as handsome does is from the late 17th century and originally referred to chivalrous behaviour.[7] Harriet Martineau noted in 1837 that Americans used handsome far more widely than the English, of speeches and books.[3] The Century Dictionary (1895) calls handsome less spiritual than beautiful.[3]

Timeline

  • before 1400 – easy to handle.[2]
  • 1530 – convenient, suitable.[2]
  • 1577 – considerable.[2]
  • 1590 – good-looking, in Spenser.[2]
  • 1680s – generous.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of a man, good-looking; attractive.
  2. Of a woman, attractive in a striking or dignified way.
  3. Fine in quality or appearance: a handsome building.
  4. Large or generous: a handsome profit.

Word family

  • handsomely
  • handsomeness
  • handsomeish
  • superhandsome
  • unhandsome

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Handsome.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/handsome. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·