handsome
adjEtymology
From Middle English handsum, hondsom, equivalent to hand + -some. Compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam. The original sense was “easy to handle or use”, hence “suitable” and “apt, clever” (mid-16th century), giving rise to the current appreciatory senses (late 16th century).
- inherited from handsum
Definitions
Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly
- That is one handsome tree you've got there.
- I saw, I confess, some good dancing and some handsome women, which was all my pleasure.
Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive
- I was struck dumb. Here was the most handsome man I’d ever seen in my life coming out of the surf.
Good, appealing, appropriate.
- City have lapped up the plaudits this season for a series of handsome wins but manager Roberto Mancini has demanded that his side also learn to grind out results when they do not play well. He now has an example to point to.
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Generous or noble in character.
- I'm a plain man, Mr. Feverel. Above board with me, and you'll find me handsome.
Ample
Ample; moderately large.
- a handsome salary
- He […] accumulated a handsome sum of money.
Of people and things
Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.
- That they [engines of war] be both easy to be carried and handsome to be moved and turned about.
- Laſtly, for a theife it is ſo handſome, as it may ſeem it was firſt invented for him
To render handsome.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at handsome. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at handsome. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
6 hops · closes at handsome
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA