English

Etymology
From hand + -some. It at first meant dexterous; compare Dutch handzaam, dexterous, ready, limber, manageable, and English handy.

Pronunciation
IPA|/'hænds�m/
audio|en-us-handsome.ogg|Audio (US)
Hyphenation: hand·some

Adjective
en-adj|more handsome or handsomer|most handsome or handsomest

1. obsolete 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

1. context|of a man Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive; having symmetry and dignity; comely.

#:Examples: a handsome man; a handsome garment, house, tree, horse.
#::Usage of handsome for a woman implies that she is not beautiful at all in the sense of female beauty.

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

#:Examples: a handsome style, etc.
#:*Easiness and handsome address in writing. - Felton

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

#:*Handsome is as handsome does. - Old Proverb

1. Ample; moderately large.

#:*He . . . accumulated a handsome sum of money. - V. Knox

Derived terms
To do the handsome thing to act liberally.

Synonyms
pretty

Translations
trans-top|Dexterous; skillful
Portuguese: hábil
trans-mid
trans-bottom

trans-top|Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste
Chinese: ��� (yīngjùn de)
Dutch: knap
Finnish: komea, kaunis
French: beau
Polish: pi�kny
German: hübsch, stattlich
Hebrew: he-translation|��� �ר��|tov mareh
Indonesian: ganteng, tampan
trans-mid
Interlingua: bel, belle
Italian: bello
Kurdish: KUchar|��ز
Latin: pulchrum
Norwegian: pen
Portuguese: bonito
Spanish: bello, bonito, hermoso
Swedish: stilig
trans-bottom

trans-top|Marked with propriety and ease
trans-mid
trans-bottom

trans-top|Generous
trans-mid
trans-bottom

trans-top|Moderately large
trans-mid
trans-bottom

Verb
to handsome

1. transitive|obsolete To render handsome. - Donne

ar:handsome
es:handsome
fr:handsome
ko:handsome
io:handsome
id:handsome
it:handsome
ku:handsome
hu:handsome
pl:handsome
fi:handsome
ta:handsome
te:handsome
vi:handsome
zh:handsome

• 2007-12-16 10:13 - Tohru - Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/63.245.190.210|63.245.190.210]] ([[User_talk:63.245.190.210|Talk]]); changed back to last version by [[User:72.65.231.42|72.65.231.42]]

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