handsome

== English == === 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). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈhæn.səm/ or occasionally /ˈhænd.səm/~/ˈhænt.səm/ Homophone: Hansom (typically) Hyphenation: hand‧some Rhymes: -ænsəm === Adjective === handsome (comparative more handsome or handsomer, superlative most handsome or handsomest) Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly: Of a man or boy: attractively manly, having a pleasing face and overall effect. Of a woman: statuesque, beautiful in a masculine or otherwise imposing way. Good, appealing, appropriate. (figuratively) Of weather, fine, clear and bright. Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; appropriate. Generous or noble in character. Ample; moderately large. Synonyms: hefty, substantial (obsolete) Of people and things: dexterous; skillful. ==== Usage notes ==== Deriving from its original senses of “skillful, capable, deft, clever”, and otherwise “having things well in hand”, handsome as a synonym of good-looking was initially primarily focused on the well-proportioned and noble aspect of a person embodying those positive traits. Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, it developed into a more general and gendered idea of male beauty distinguished from the feminine beauty thought to be implied by words like pretty, lovely, beautiful, and so on. In reference to men, it continues to have a more aesthetic and general sense than hot, manly, sexy, and similar words primarily focused on sexual attraction. In reference to women, present use of handsome can seem old-fashioned; when it does appear, depending on context, it may continue the original sense of powerful or statuesque beauty or imply a mannish or otherwise unusual form of beauty. Similarly, present use of handsome for inanimate objects can seem awkward; when it does appear, it usually implies the object is well-built and well-proportioned. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Japanese: ハンサム → Malay: hensem ==== Translations ==== === Verb === handsome (third-person singular simple present handsomes, present participle handsoming, simple past and past participle handsomed) (transitive, obsolete) To render handsome. === References === === Anagrams === mashed on