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- mid-13c., "abundant, plentiful," Middle English compound of ful "full" (see full (adj.)) + -som "to a considerable degree" (see -some (1)).
www.etymonline.com/word/fulsome
The earliest known use of the word fulsome is in the Middle English period (1150—1500). OED's earliest evidence for fulsome is from before 1325, in Genesis & Exodus.
Historically, it has also meant "disgusting or offensive," or "copious or abundant." Fulsome dates to the 1200s, when its components (ful + som) gave it the meaning "abundant, full," says the Online Etymology Dictionary. By the mid-1300s, it had come to mean "plump, well-fed."
In the United States, the compound fullsome takes its signification from full, in the sense of cloying or satiating, and in England, fulsome takes its predominant sense from foulness. Webster’s assertion that full and foul share an etymological root is incorrect.
While some critics object to the pleasanter meanings of fulsome, they are in fact true to the word’s origins: when it was first used in the 14th century fulsome meant “abundant, copious.”
Historically, it has also meant "disgusting or offensive," or "copious or abundant." Fulsome dates to the 1200s, when its components ( ful + som) gave it the meaning "abundant, full," says the Online Etymology Dictionary. By the mid-1300s, it had come to mean "plump, well-fed."
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1. Effusive; lavish. 2. Excessive to the point of being offensive. ETYMOLOGY: A combination of the words full and -some (having a particular quality). NOTES: Does the word fulsome have a positive connotation or negative? Depends on whom you ask. The word started out in mid 13th century as a straightforward, unambiguous word to describe abundance.
