awful English · revision 92

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɔːfəl/, /ˈɔːfʊl/ ''(Received Pronunciation)''^(Wiktionary)

+ * Respelling: ''ôˈfəl''^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Formed in Middle English, c. 1300, as ''agheful'', ''aueful'',^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from ''aghe'', an earlier form of [[awe]], + [[-ful]].^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) It replaced Old English [[ang|egefull|t=dreadful]].^(RHWU)^(Etymonline) The American Heritage Dictionary describes it as a blend of ''awe'' with a form descended from Old English ''egefull''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Worthy of respect or fear; striking with awe; causing dread”.^(Etymonline) The OED's earliest quotations for “causing dread, terrible” date from c. 885, and for “commanding profound respect or reverential fear” from c. 1000.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Awful'' first described what inspires awe, whether dread or reverence.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) From the 1590s it could also describe the person who feels awe: “afraid” or “profoundly reverential”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In the early 19th century it weakened into an intensifier, first “very bad” and then “very great; very”,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) following the same pattern as ''horribly'' and ''dreadfully''.^(RHWU) In the sense “inspiring awe”, [[awesome]] has largely replaced it.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – first recorded as ''agheful'': “worthy of respect or fear; causing dread”.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – “profoundly reverential, full of awe”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660 – “solemnly impressive, sublimely majestic”.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1809 – weakened sense “very bad, frightful”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1818 – used as an intensive adverb, “very, extremely”.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very bad or unpleasant.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(informal)'' Very great; used as an intensifier, as in ''an awful lot''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Inspiring awe; solemnly impressive, or dreadful.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Filled with awe, whether reverence or fear.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(informal)'' Very, extremely.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[awfully]]^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ * [[awfulness]]^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ * [[god-awful]]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[awe]]^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+ * [[awesome]]^(RHWU)

+ * [[terrific]] and [[terrible]], which weakened in the same way^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Some object to ''awful'' and ''awfully'' in senses unconnected with awe, but these senses have been used since the late 18th or early 19th century.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) As an adverb, ''awful'' (''awful hot'') is less formal than ''awfully''.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}