English Dictionary: handsome | by the DICT Development Group |
2 results for handsome | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Handsome \Hand"some\ (?; 277), a. [Compar. {Handsomer}; superl. {Handsomest}.] [Hand + -some. It at first meant, dexterous; cf. D. handzaam dexterous, ready, limber, manageable, and E. handy.] 1. Dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied to things as persons. [Obs.] 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. 2. Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive; having symmetry and dignity; comely; -- expressing more than pretty, and less than beautiful; as, a handsome man or woman; a handsome garment, house, tree, horse. |