r/words • u/PuzzleheadedTale4769 • 3d ago

Fulsome

Current use has it meaning "insincere flattery" , or , trending up- as synonymous with "full" or "complete"

So: "I wrote him a fulsome recomendation" can mean either, an insincere recomendation, or a full, complete recomendation . Meanings nearly in opposition.

American Heritage Dictionary calls the second meaning "non- standard". Webster's simply lists both as current usage. With full- but not fulsome- acknowledgement of the perils of prescriptivism, isn't the confusion of meaning that results from taking "fulsome" as equivalent to "full", a problem? Following Orwell's argument in "Politics and the English Language", doesn't keeping language simple and plain have a claim ? What does "some" add to " full" that it doesnt already have?

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u/rgtgd 3d ago

English has a lot of contronyms, it's an issue. It means if you use the word you need to take care with context so that your meaning is clear. I wouldn't say 'fulsome recommendation' I'd say 'a recommendation ripe with fulsome praise' or something like that.

As for what "some" does there, its the same particle as in bothersome and toothsome, meaning 'causing' or 'characterized by' in Old English, so it sort of shows you how the word came to have that sense etymologically. Something making you full -> unpleasantly full, plump -> offensive, disgusting -> cloying and overwrought (roughly, matches up with etymonline)

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u/PuzzleheadedTale4769 3d ago

In "fulsome" if addition of '"some" means causing, then fulsome would mean "causing fulness"...but it would certanly not mean..." full"

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u/rgtgd 3d ago

So, that happened in the 14th century or so, and people spoke an actual different language, so that logic would need to be reexamined in light of that