handsome.
Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly
Meaning & usage
Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly
That is one handsome tree you've got there.
Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive Of a man or boy: attractively manly, having a pleasing face and overall effect.
I was struck dumb. Here was the most handsome man I’d ever seen in my life coming out of the surf.
Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive Of a woman: statuesque, beautiful in a masculine or otherwise imposing way.
She was either handsome or her uniform created a flattering effect but—being very nearsighted—he couldn't tell from this distance.
Good, appealing, appropriate.
Good, appealing, appropriate. Of weather, fine, clear and bright.
Good, appealing, appropriate. Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; appropriate.
a handsome style
Generous or noble in character.
Ample; moderately large.
a handsome salary
Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *handuz Proto-West Germanic *handu Old English hand Middle English hond Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *somHós Proto-Germanic *samaz Proto-Germanic *-samaz Proto-West Germanic *-sam Old English -sum Middle English -som Middle English hondsom English handsome From Middle English handsum, hondsom, equivalent to hand + -some. Compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam. The original sense was “easy to handle or use”, hence “suitable” and “apt, clever” (mid-16th century), giving rise to the current appreciatory senses (late 16th century).
To render handsome.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *handuz Proto-West Germanic *handu Old English hand Middle English hond Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *somHós Proto-Germanic *samaz Proto-Germanic *-samaz Proto-West Germanic *-sam Old English -sum Middle English -som Middle English hondsom English handsome From Middle English handsum, hondsom, equivalent to hand + -some. Compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam. The original sense was “easy to handle or use”, hence “suitable” and “apt, clever” (mid-16th century), giving rise to the current appreciatory senses (late 16th century).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.