-ful
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fʊl/, /fəl/, [fl̩]
Audio (US): (file)
Etymology 1
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”), Danish -fuld (“-ful”), Icelandic -fullur, -fyllur (“-ful”).
Suffix
-ful
- Used to form adjectives from nouns, with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing the quality expressed by the noun.
Synonyms
- (full of): -ose
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
Inherited from Middle English -ful, from Old English -ful, -full, from Proto-Germanic *fullō, *fullijô (“filling”).
Suffix
-ful
- Used to form nouns from nouns meaning “as much as can be held by what is denoted by the noun”
Usage notes
The plural is formed by pluralizing the noun (e.g., librariesful) or by simply suffixing -s (e.g., libraryfuls).
Derived terms
Translations
See also
- (having a considerable amount of): -some
Anagrams
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
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".
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ful/
- (Southern, Kent) IPA(key): /vul/
Suffix
-ful
- Appended to nouns (or, rarely, adjectives and adverbs) to form adjectives denoting the experience or induction of an attitude, internal state or quality.
- Appended to nouns referring to containers or vessels, denoting the quantity that the given vessel is capable of holding.
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- “-ful, suf.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 22 June 2018.
- “-ful, suf.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 22 June 2018.
Old English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *-fullaz (“-ful”), from Proto-Germanic *fullaz (“full”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ful/
Suffix
-ful
- full of; -ful
Declension
Derived terms
Descendants
Saterland Frisian
Suffix
-ful
- Used to form adjectives from nouns; -ful