Origin Of The Word Handsome - 1300, at first found chiefly in writings from northern england and north midlands, with a sense of powerful, strong; a word of obscure origin. Web the earliest known use of the word handsome is in the middle english period (1150—1500). Cognate with west frisian hānsum “easy to control, convenient,” dutch handzaam “easy to manage”; It is possibly from a scandinavian source (compare norwegian dialectal bugge great man). Compare dutch handzaam, german low german handsaam. Web learn the origin, synonyms, and usage of the adjective handsome, which means having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance, moderately large, or marked by skill or cleverness. Learn more about the origin and history of other words that changed their meanings, such as 'geek', 'condominium', and 'sophisticated'. Web the adjective “handsome” has had many meanings since it entered english in the 15th century, but it’s not certain why some have tended to attach themselves to men and others to women. See examples of handsome in a sentence and related words from the thesaurus. Middle english hondsom, handsum “easy to control, handy”;
Oed's earliest evidence for handsome is from 1440, in promptorium parvulorum. 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). Web the earliest known use of the word handsome is in the middle english period (1150—1500). Compare dutch handzaam, german low german handsaam. Handsome is formed within english, by derivation. See examples of handsome in a sentence and related words from the thesaurus. 1300, at first found chiefly in writings from northern england and north midlands, with a sense of powerful, strong; a word of obscure origin. Cognate with west frisian hānsum “easy to control, convenient,” dutch handzaam “easy to manage”; Web the word 'handsome' was once used to refer to something easy to handle or maneuver with one's hands. Handsome has not gone through as many changes in meaning as nice has, but it has gone through enough. It is possibly from a scandinavian source (compare norwegian dialectal bugge great man). It evolved from a latin word meaning easy to handle and was adopted into english in the 15th century. When the word first showed up around 1440, according to the oed, it meant easy to handle or manipulate. Web learn the origin, synonyms, and usage of the adjective handsome, which means having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance, moderately large, or marked by skill or cleverness. Middle english hondsom, handsum “easy to control, handy”; Web the adjective “handsome” has had many meanings since it entered english in the 15th century, but it’s not certain why some have tended to attach themselves to men and others to women. Learn more about the origin and history of other words that changed their meanings, such as 'geek', 'condominium', and 'sophisticated'.