Where does “-ful” come from?

-ful (English) comes from Middle English -ful, from Old English -ful, from Proto-Germanic -fullaz, from Proto-Germanic fullaz, from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- — to fill.

-ful (English): Used to form adjectives from nouns. Full of,...

Definitions

  1. Used to form adjectives from nouns. Full of,...

Ancestry of “-ful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle English-fulAppended to nouns to form adjectives denoting...
2Old English-fulfull of; -ful
3Proto-Germanic-fullaz-ful
4Proto-Germanicfullazfull; the whole, the entire
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpl̥h₁nósfull
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpleh₁-to fill

Words derived from “-ful”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- →