handsome English · revision 6438

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1400}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhæn.səm/, /ˈhænd.səm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[hand]] and the suffix [[-some]];^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) MWU suggests it may be from an assumed Middle Dutch handsaem, compare Dutch [[m|nl|handzaam|t=tractable]].^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Easy to handle, ready at hand: probably before 1400, in the ''Morte Arthur'', in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) about 1435 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Handy, convenient or suitable is from 1530, and apt or clever in the 16th century.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) Of fair size, considerable, as ''a handsome sum'', is from 1577,^(Barnhart 1988) and having a fine form, good-looking, from 1590, in Spenser's ''Faerie Queene''.^(Barnhart 1988) Generous or magnanimous is from the 1680s.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The proverb ''handsome is as handsome does'' is from the late 17th century and originally referred to chivalrous behaviour.^(Cresswell 2021) Harriet Martineau noted in 1837 that Americans used handsome far more widely than the English, of speeches and books.^(Etymonline) The Century Dictionary (1895) calls handsome less spiritual than beautiful.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1400 – easy to handle.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – convenient, suitable.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1577 – considerable.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590 – good-looking, in Spenser.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1680s – generous.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of a man, good-looking; [[attractive]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a woman, attractive in a striking or dignified way.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Fine in quality or appearance: ''a handsome building''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Large or generous: ''a handsome profit''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[handsomely]]

+ * [[handsomeness]]

+ * [[handsomeish]]

+ * [[superhandsome]]

+ * [[unhandsome]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hand]]

+ * [[handy]]

+ * [[pretty]]

+ * [[fair]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}