handsome

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Good-looking, especially of a man.

   He was a tall, handsome young man.

2. 2
   adj

   Large in amount, especially of money.

   She made a handsome profit on the sale.

3. 3
   adj

   Attractive and pleasing in appearance, of a thing.

   They live in a handsome old house by the river.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Handsome arose in Middle English from hand and originally meant “easy to handle or use.” In the early 16th century it developed senses such as “suitable,” “apt,” “clever,” and “courteous,” followed soon afterward by the modern senses “good-looking” and “striking or of fine quality.”

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).

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary