Lexic.us

Definition of Handsome

1. Adjective. Pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion. "Our southern women are well-favored"

2. Adjective. Given or giving freely. "Her fond and openhanded grandfather"

Definition of Handsome

1. a. Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons.

2. v. t. To render handsome.

Definition of Handsome

1. Adjective. (obsolete) Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons. ¹

2. Adjective. (context: of a man) Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive. ¹

3. Adjective. (context: of a woman) Striking, impressive and elegantly proportioned, though not typically beautiful. ¹

4. Adjective. Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; graceful; becoming; appropriate. ¹

5. Adjective. Evincing a becoming generosity or nobleness of character; liberal; generous. ¹

6. Adjective. Ample; moderately large. ¹

7. Adjective. Having a good appearance ¹

8. Verb. (transitive, obsolete) To render handsome. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Handsome

1. attractive [adj -SOMER, -SOMEST] - See also: attractive

Medical Definition of Handsome

1. 1. Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; applied to things as persons. "That they [engines of war] be both easy to be carried and handsome to be moved and turned about." (Robynson (Utopia)) "For a thief it is so handsome as it may seem it was first invented for him." (Spenser) 2. Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive; having symmetry and dignity; comely; expressing more than pretty, and less than beautiful; as, a handsome man or woman; a handsome garment, house, tree, horse. 3. Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; graceful; becoming; appropriate; as, a handsome style, etc. "Easiness and handsome address in writing." (Felton) 4. Evincing a becoming generosity or nobleness of character; liberal; generous. "Handsome is as handsome does." (Old Proverb) 5. Ample; moderately large. "He . . . Accumulated a handsome sum of money." (V. Knox) To do the handsome thing, to act liberally. Synonym: Handsome, Pretty. Pretty applies to things comparatively small, which please by their delicacy and grace; as, a pretty girl, a pretty flower, a pretty cottage. Handsome rises higher, and is applied to objects on a larger scale. We admire what is handsome, we are pleased with what is pretty. The word is connected with hand, and has thus acquired the idea of training, cultivation, symmetry, and proportion, which enters so largely into our conception of handsome. Thus Drayton makes mention of handsome players, meaning those, who are well trained; and hence we speak of a man's having a handsome address, which is the result of culture; of a handsome horse or dog, which implies well proportioned limbs; of a handsome face, to which, among other qualities, the idea of proportion and a graceful contour are essential; of a handsome tree, and a handsome house or villa. So, from this idea of proportion or suitableness, we have, with a different application, the expressions, a handsome fortune, a handsome offer. Origin: Hand + -some. It at first meant, dexterous; cf. D. Handzaam dexterous, ready, limber, manageable, and E. Handy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Handsome

handset handsets handsewn handsfree handsful handshake handshakes handshaking handshakings handshape

handshapes handsier handsiest handsoap handsoaps handsome (current term) handsomed handsomely handsomeness handsomenesses

handsomer handsomes handsomest handsoming handspan handspans handspike handspikes handspring handsprings

Literary usage of Handsome

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life by George Eliot (1873)
"Sir James had no idea that he should ever like to put down the predominance of this handsome girl, in whose cleverness he delighted. Why not? ..."

2. Publishers Weekly by Publishers' Board of Trade (U.S.), Book Trade Association of Philadelphia, American Book Trade Union, Am. Book Trade Association, R.R. Bowker Company (1883)
"In a handsome holiday edition, revised and enlarged, and illustrated with numerous engravings. No preceding publication on the same subject surpasses it in ..."

3. Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical by Henry Gray, Henry Vandyke Carter, Luther Holden (1878)
"Third edition, revised aud enlarged, with Illustrations. In one large and handsome octavo volume of over 700 pages. Cloth, ».i 00 ; leather, »i 00. ..."

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