Word definition: 'handsome' • Lucid Lexicon

handsome

Lucid Lexicon

Ancestral Lore of handsome

circa 1400, handsom "easy to handle, ready at hand"

handsome adjective

of a person (occasionally an animal): attractive and pleasing in appearance, esp. in having a well-proportioned figure and noble bearing; (now) spec. (of a woman) striking, stately, as opposed to conventionally beautiful or pretty (OED)

Specific examples and quotes of handsome

OED also lists the following definitions for handsome:

(from 1528 on, not obsolete)
of conduct, etc.:
conforming to what is expected or approved; seemly

(from 1638 on, not obsolete) ironic
of a punishment, reproof, etc. (esp. a beating):
severe, unsparing; ‘fine’

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~☉~	lucid definition; added layer of lucidity, or aethereal context
⚜	classic definition
☣	artificium definition; usually words which have undergone a warped evolution, or a complete perversion of the original sense

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