Meanings
plural tunfuls · plural tunsful
- Enough to fill a tun or cask.
Like essence there can bee tunfuls of it. It must come by drops, no showers of it.
a. 1695, George Savile, Marquis of Halifax, The Works of George Savile, Marquis of Halifax, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1989, →ISBN, page 311 more example
At the same time, every effort will be made to soften prejudice by conciliatory language, winning souls by love and not by bitterness, and remembering the words of St. Francis of Sales, “that more hearts are gained by a spoonful of honey than by tunsful of vinegar.”
1887, James Britten, “The Catholic Truth Society”, in The Dublin Review, third series, volume XVII, London: Burns & Oates, Limited; Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son; New York, N.Y.: Catholic Publication Society Co., page 409
Origin
- Middle Englishtonneful
- Englishtunful
From Middle English tonneful (attested in the plural as tonnefullis), equivalent to tun + -ful.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
tunful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tunful
“tunful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tunful. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tunful,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tunful.
Source: tunful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.