Handsome

[han-suh m] /ˈhæn səm/

adjective, handsomer, handsomest.
1.
having an attractive, well-proportioned, and imposing appearance suggestive of health and strength; good-looking:
a handsome man; a handsome woman.
2.
having pleasing proportions, relationships, or arrangements, as of shapes, forms, or colors; attractive:
a handsome house; a handsome interior.
3.
exhibiting skill, taste, and refinement; well-made:
a handsome story; handsome furniture.
4.
considerable, ample, or liberal in amount:
a handsome fortune.
5.
gracious; generous; flattering:
a handsome compliment; a handsome recommendation.
6.
adroit and appealing; graceful:
a handsome speech.
/ˈhændsəm/
adjective
1.
(of a man) good-looking, esp in having regular, pleasing, and well-defined features
2.
(of a woman) fine-looking in a dignified way
3.
well-proportioned, stately, or comely: a handsome room
4.
liberal or ample: a handsome allowance
5.
gracious or generous: a handsome action
6.
(Southwest English) pleasant: handsome weather
noun
7.
(Southwest English) a term of endearment for a beloved person, esp in my handsome
adj.

c.1400, handsom “easy to handle, ready at hand,” from hand (n.) + -some (1). Sense extended to “fair size, considerable” (1570s), then “having fine form, good-looking” (1580s). Meaning “generous” (in handsome reward, etc.) first recorded 1680s.

[Americans] use the word “handsome” much more extensively than we do: saying that Webster made a handsome speech in the Senate: that a lady talks handsomely, (eloquently:) that a book sells handsomely. A gentleman asked me on the Catskill Mountain, whether I thought the sun handsomer there than at New York. [Harriet Martineau, “Society in America,” 1837]

Related: Handsomeness.

Related Terms

high* wide* and handsome