Etymology

-ful

Today it means: Used to form adjectives from nouns, with the sense of being full of, tending to, or thoroughly possessing the quality expressed by the noun. Full definition →

Proto-Germanic *fullaz ← Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós
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-ful · suffix1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pl̥h₁nós
  3. Proto-Germanic*fullaz
  4. English today-ful

Inherited from Middle English -ful, -full, from Old English -ful, -full (“full of; -ful”), from Proto-Germanic *-fullaz (“-ful”), from Proto-Germanic *fullaz (“full”); see full. Cognate with Scots -fu, Saterland Frisian -ful (“-ful”), West Frisian -fol (“-ful”), Dutch -vol (“-ful”), German -voll (“-ful”), Swedish -full (“-ful”), Danish -fuld (“-ful”), Icelandic -fullur, -fyllur (“-ful”).

-ful · suffix2

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*fullō
  2. Old English · inherited from-ful
  3. Middle English · inherited from-ful
  4. English today-ful

Inherited from Middle English -ful, from Old English -ful, -full, from Proto-Germanic *fullō, *fullijô (“filling”).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*fullaz all →

full

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.