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Sep 13, 2011 · Fulsome became a point of dispute when sense 1 ["copious; generous in amount, extent, or spirit; full and well developed"], thought to be obsolete in the 19th century, began to be revived in the 20th. The dispute was exacerbated by the fact that the large dictionaries of the first half of the century missed the beginnings of the revival.
Feb 9, 2009 · Fulsome became a point of dispute when sense 1, thought to be obsolete in the 19th century, began to be revived in the 20th. The dispute was exacerbated by the fact that the large dictionaries of the first half of the century missed the beginnings of the revival.
By the 1940s and 1950s, says Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (MWDEU), there was an outcry against using fulsome to mean "abundant." Usage mavens began urging the "disgusting or offensive" use, some mistakenly referring to it as its traditional sense.
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. Etymons: full adj., ‑some suffix1.
Jun 16, 2020 · Fulsome has had a pejorative meaning since at least the late 14th century. Its original, positive senses meaning, basically, “full, abundant, copious” stopped being used in the early 17th. Until 2016 that was the record of fulsome in the OED, much to the satisfaction of many a pedant I’m sure.
The Oxford English Dictionary records a parallel trajectory of the meaning of fulsome, this time relating to food rather than size. It started out meaning “filling” or “heavy,” then “tending to cause nausea,” and then finally “cloying” or “wearisome from excess or repetition.”
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Dec 12, 2019 · When it first appeared in the mid-13th century, fulsome usually had a positive connotation. Its primary sense was “plentiful ... copious,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary....
