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The result is that fulsome is now used with positive or neutral connotations at least as often as with negative connotations, but many people consider the “copious” meaning to be an error, even though it is the etymologically purest use of the word.
Via the sense of "causing nausea" it came to be used of language, "offensive to taste or good manners" (early 15c.); especially "excessively flattering" (1660s). Since the 1960s, however, it commonly has been used in its original, favorable sense, especially in fulsome praise. Related: Fulsomely; fulsomeness.
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 . fulsome is formed within English, by derivation.
Nov 3, 2014 · Nearly all of those negative senses, the OED says, are now considered obsolete. The dictionary says the adjective “fulsome” is “now chiefly used in reference to gross or excessive flattery, over-demonstrative affection, or the like.”
Jul 3, 2024 · The negative sense "offensive, gross; disgusting, sickening" developed secondarily after the 13th century and was influenced by Middle English foul (“ foul ”). [1] In the 18th century, the word was sometimes even spelled foulsome .
The adjective fulsome can be defined as "unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech." 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 ...
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Apr 19, 2011 · The word “fulsome” presents a problem that usage and etymology fail to sort out. It either means “abundant,” “offensive” or, perhaps as a compromise, “offensively abundant.” Dictionaries usually give at least the first two meanings while most usage guides insist on the third.
