handsome

A1 Topic:Numbers & Quantity

Also spelled an’some

US /ˈhæn.səm/ See IPA manual

Homophones

hansom /ˈhænsəm/

Freq #1719

Meanings

1

adj
Good-looking, especially of a man.

He was a tall, handsome young man.
2

adj
Large in amount, especially of money.

She made a handsome profit on the sale.
3

adj
Attractive and pleasing in appearance, of a thing.

They live in a handsome old house by the river.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · good-looking, especially of... fine-lookinggood-looking

2 adj · large in amount, especially... hefty substantial

3 adj · attractive and pleasing in... fine-looking

Word family

Forms handsomerhandsomest

Derived forms blandsomehandsomeishhandsomelyhandsomenessmansomesuperhandsomeunhandsome

Common collocations

extraordinarily handsome Adverb + adjective

Etymology

From Middle English handsum, hondsom, equivalent to hand + -some. Compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam. The original sense was ‘easy to handle or use’, hence ‘suitable’ and ‘apt, clever’ (mid 16th century), giving rise to the current appreciatory senses (late 16th century).

handsum Middle English

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# handsome

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈhæn.səm/
**Frequency rank:** 1719

## Meanings
1. Good-looking, especially of a man.
2. Large in amount, especially of money.
3. Attractive and pleasing in appearance, of a thing.

## Examples
- He was a tall, handsome young man.
- She made a handsome profit on the sale.
- They live in a handsome old house by the river.

## Derived Forms
- blandsome
- handsomeish
- handsomely
- handsomeness
- mansome
- superhandsome
- unhandsome

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: handsum
- Affix: -some - tending to

## Etymology
From Middle English handsum, hondsom, equivalent to hand + -some. Compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam. The original sense was ‘easy to handle or use’, hence ‘suitable’ and ‘apt, clever’ (mid 16th century), giving rise to the current appreciatory senses (late 16th century).

## AI Etymology
Handsome comes from Middle English handsum, hondsom, equivalent to hand + -some. Compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam. The original sense was ‘easy to handle or use’, hence ‘suitable’ and ‘apt, clever’ (mid 16th century), giving rise to the current appreciatory senses (late 16th century). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. In current use, the main senses are “Good-looking, especially of a man” and “Large in amount, especially of money”.

## Topics
- Numbers & Quantity

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handsome

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