Search results
- 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.
Webster’s assertion that full and foul share an etymological root is incorrect. Full comes from the Old English word that was spelled the same way, while foul comes from the Old English word fūl, meaning “rotten.” Webster then also added an entry for fullsome: Gross; disgusting by plainness, grossness or excess; as fullsome flattery or praise.
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.
early 13c., "of or pertaining to the head," from Old French capital, from Latin capitalis "of the head," hence "capital, chief, first," from caput (genitive capitis) "head" (from PIE root *kaput- "head"). The meaning "main, principal, chief, dominant, first in importance" is from.
fulsome. (fʊlsəm ) adjective. If you describe expressions of praise, apology, or gratitude as fulsome, you disapprove of them because they are exaggerated and elaborate, so that they sound insincere. [disapproval] Newspapers have been fulsome in their praise of the former president.
His collected works, prefaced by a fulsome panegyric, in the course of which it is said that " he was a miracle of nature, and rather seemed to be the immediate production of God Almighty than born of a woman," were produced by his son-in-law, Thomas Wilson, in 1619.
People also ask
Where did the word fulsome come from?
How many meanings does the word fulsome have?
Is fulsome a negative etymology?
Is fullsome a etymological root?
Did Johnson & Webster have the oldest meaning of fulsome?
What does fulsome mean in literature?
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.
