See also: ful, fúl, fûl, fül, and ful-

EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /fʊl/, /fəl/, [fl̩]

Etymology 1Edit

Inherited from Middle English -ful, -full, from Old English -ful, -full (full of; -ful), from Proto-Germanic *-fullaz (-ful), from Proto-Germanic *fullaz (full); see full. Cognate with Scots -fu, Saterland Frisian -ful (-ful), West Frisian -fol (-ful), Dutch -vol (-ful), German -voll (-ful), Swedish -full (-ful), Icelandic -fullur, -fyllur (-ful).

SuffixEdit

-ful

  1. Used to form adjectives from nouns, with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing the quality expressed by the noun.
    sin + ‎-ful → ‎sinful
SynonymsEdit
AntonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

Inherited from Middle English -ful, from Old English -ful, -full, from Proto-Germanic *fullō, *fullijô (filling).

SuffixEdit

-ful

  1. Used to form nouns from nouns meaning “as much as can be held by what is denoted by the noun”
    bowl + ‎-ful → ‎bowlful
    hand + ‎-ful → ‎handful
Usage notesEdit

The plural is formed by pluralizing the noun (e.g., librariesful) or by simply suffixing -s (e.g., libraryfuls).

Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit

AnagramsEdit

Middle EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

Inherited from Old English -ful, -full (full of; -ful), from Proto-West Germanic *-full, Proto-Germanic *-fullaz (-ful), from Proto-Germanic *fullaz (full). The use of the ending to denote nouns originates in the reanalysis of ful modifying a noun as being part of the noun itself, e.g. "cuppe ful" as "cuppe-ful".

PronunciationEdit

SuffixEdit

-ful

  1. Appended to nouns (or, rarely, adjectives and adverbs) to form adjectives denoting the experience or induction of an attitude, internal state or quality.
  2. Appended to nouns referring to containers or vessels, denoting the quantity that the given vessel is capable of holding.

Derived termsEdit

DescendantsEdit

  • English: -ful
  • Scots: -fu

ReferencesEdit

Old EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Germanic *-fullaz (-ful), from Proto-Germanic *fullaz (full).

PronunciationEdit

SuffixEdit

-ful

  1. full of; -ful

Derived termsEdit

DescendantsEdit

Saterland FrisianEdit

SuffixEdit

-ful

  1. Used to form adjectives from nouns; -ful