handsome

Etymology
From, , equivalent to. Compare 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬. 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).

Pronunciation

 * or occasionally ~

Adjective

 * 1) Having a pleasing appearance, good-looking, attractive, particularly:
 * 2) Of a man or boy: attractively manly, having a pleasing face and overall effect.
 * 3) Of a woman: statuesque, beautiful in a masculine or otherwise imposing way.
 * 4) Good, appealing, appropriate.
 * 5)  Fine, clear and bright.
 * 6) Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; appropriate.
 * 7) Generous or noble in character.
 * 8) Ample; moderately large.
 * 9)  Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.
 * 1) Of a woman: statuesque, beautiful in a masculine or otherwise imposing way.
 * 2) Good, appealing, appropriate.
 * 3)  Fine, clear and bright.
 * 4) Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; appropriate.
 * 5) Generous or noble in character.
 * 6) Ample; moderately large.
 * 7)  Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.
 * 1) Suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease; appropriate.
 * 2) Generous or noble in character.
 * 3) Ample; moderately large.
 * 4)  Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.
 * 1) Generous or noble in character.
 * 2) Ample; moderately large.
 * 3)  Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.
 * 1) Ample; moderately large.
 * 2)  Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.
 * 1)  Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.
 * 1)  Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.
 * 1)  Of people and things: dexterous; skillful.

Usage notes
Deriving from its original senses of, , , , and otherwise having things well in hand, handsome as a synonym of was initially primarily focused on the well-proportioned and noble aspect of a person embodying those positive traits. Over the course of the 19th & 20th centuries, it developed into a more general and gendered idea of male beauty distinguished from the feminine beauty thought to be implied by words like, , , and so on. In reference to men, it continues to have a more aesthetic and general sense than, , , and similar words primarily focused on sexual attraction. In reference to women, present use of handsome can seem old fashioned; when it does appear, depending on context, it may continue the original sense of powerful or statuesque beauty or imply a mannish or otherwise unusual form of beauty. Similarly, present use of handsome for inanimate objects can seem awkward; when it does appear, it usually implies the object is well built, cute and well proportioned.

Translations

 * Apache:
 * Western Apache: ba’olníí
 * Arabic: ,
 * Hijazi Arabic: وسيم, حلو, مَليح
 * Armenian: ,
 * Aromanian:
 * Azerbaijani: yaraşıq, yaraşıqlı
 * Belarusian: прыго́жы, выда́тны, харо́шы, красі́вы, урадлі́вы
 * Bengali:, ,
 * Bulgarian:, го́тин
 * Burmese:
 * Chinese:
 * Cantonese:
 * Dungan: җүнмый, җүн
 * Eastern Min: 俊
 * Hokkien:
 * Mandarin:, , ,
 * Czech:, ,
 * Danish: flot,
 * Dutch:
 * Esperanto:
 * Finnish: ,
 * French:
 * German:, ,
 * Greek:
 * Haitian Creole: bèl
 * Hebrew: טוב מראה
 * Hindi: ख़ूबसूरत
 * Hungarian: ,
 * Indonesian: ,
 * Ingrian: näökäs
 * Interlingua: bel,
 * Irish: dathúil, dóighiúil, slachtmhar
 * Italian:
 * Japanese:
 * Jarai: yâo
 * Kabuverdianu: bunitu, benite
 * Kapampangan: santing, pogi, masanting
 * Korean: ,
 * Kurdish:
 * Central Kurdish: قۆز
 * Lao:
 * Latin:, formōsus, scitulus
 * Louisiana Creole French: bo, vayan
 * Macedonian: убав, згоден
 * Malay:
 * Malayalam: സുന്ദരന്‍
 * Maori: purotu, ranginamu
 * Navajo: bíiyis, baa dzólní
 * Norwegian:
 * Bokmål: kjekk
 * Nynorsk: kjekk
 * Persian: خوش‌تیپ
 * Plautdietsch: schmock
 * Polish: ,
 * Portuguese:
 * Romanian:, ,
 * Russian: ,
 * Saanich: W̱,ÍEs
 * Scots: bonny, braw
 * Scottish Gaelic: eireachdail
 * Slovak: pekný,
 * Spanish:, , de buen parecer, ,  , ,
 * Sundanese: kasep
 * Swedish:
 * Tagalog: ,
 * Thai:
 * Turkish:
 * Ukrainian:, вродли́вий, , хоро́ший, фа́йний
 * Urdu: خوبصورت
 * Vietnamese: đẹp trai
 * Welsh: golygus


 * Bengali:, , হাসিনা
 * German:, ,
 * Maori: purotu
 * Portuguese: bem-apanhada, jeitosa
 * Russian:


 * Bulgarian:
 * Finnish: muhkea
 * German: ,
 * Portuguese:
 * Russian:

Verb

 * 1)  To render handsome.