Search results
In 1828, Noah Webster listed the only definition of fulsome in his dictionary as "disgusting or offensive," while The Oxford English Dictionary listed "excessively flattering" as the only current definition in 1897 — dating it to 1663 — labeling the others as obsolete.
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.
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.
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.
- Melissa Mohr
USAGE In the 13th century when it was first used, fulsome meant simply “abundant or copious.” It later developed additional senses of “offensive, gross” and “disgusting, sickening,” probably by association with foul, and still later a sense of excessiveness: a fulsome disease; a fulsome meal, replete with too much of everything.
Dec 11, 1977 · December 10, 1977 at 7:00 p.m. EST. ONE OF THE BEST indications of the way language changes is the word fulsome , which has for years meant "offensive to good taste, especially from excess."...
People also ask
Where did the word fulsome come from?
What does fulsome mean?
Is fullsome a word?
Is fullsome a etymological root?
Is fulsome a negative etymology?
Did Johnson & Webster have the oldest meaning of fulsome?
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.
