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| Date: | 1500-1600 |
| Origin: | handsome 'easy to handle' (15-17 centuries), from hand |
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hand‧some
1
a) a man who is handsome looks attractive [= good-looking]: 
an extremely handsome young manhis handsome face ➔ see usage note beautiful
an extremely handsome young manhis handsome faceb) a woman who is handsome looks attractive in a strong healthy way
2 an animal, object, or building that is handsome looks attractive in an impressive way : a row of handsome Georgian houses
a row of handsome Georgian houses3 [only before noun] a handsome amount of money is large : a handsome fee
a handsome fee4 [only before noun] a handsome gift or prize is worth a lot of money : There are some handsome prizes to be won.
There are some handsome prizes to be won.5 [only before noun] a handsome victory is important and impressive : They won a handsome victory in the elections.
They won a handsome victory in the elections. —handsomely adverb: He was handsomely rewarded by the king.
WORD CHOICE: He was handsomely rewarded by the king.
WORD CHOICE: 
beautiful, pretty, handsome, good-looking, attractive, gorgeous, stunningbeautiful is used to describe someone, usually a woman or child, who is attractive in a very special and noticeable way.pretty is usually used to describe a girl or woman who is good-looking, with regular features. It can also be used to describe a boy or young man who has an attractive but feminine face.handsome is usually used to describe a man or boy who is good-looking, with strong regular features. It can also be used to describe a woman, usually an older woman, who has attractive but masculine features.good-looking can be used to describe anyone who you think is nice to look at. attractive is used to describe someone who looks good in a way that attracts sexual interest • I can see he's handsome, but I don't find him very attractive.gorgeous and stunning are emphatic ways of saying that someone is very attractive. Gorgeous is used mostly in spoken English. ➔ See also beautiful
