Ful

¹

[ fool ]

noun

, plural Fuls, (especially collectively) Ful.

1. Fulani.

-ful

²

1. a suffix meaning “full of,” “characterized by” ( shameful; beautiful; careful; thoughtful ); “tending to,” “able to” ( wakeful; harmful ); “as much as will fill” ( spoonful ).

-ful

suffix

1. forming adjectives full of or characterized by

   spiteful

   painful

   restful

2. forming adjectives able or tending to

   helpful

   useful

3. forming nouns indicating as much as will fill the thing specified

   mouthful

   spoonful

Usage

Where the amount held by a spoon, etc, is used as a rough unit of measurement, the correct form is spoonful , etc: take a spoonful of this medicine every day . Spoon full is used in a sentence such as he held out a spoon full of dark liquid , where full of describes the spoon. A plural form such as spoonfuls is preferred by many speakers and writers to spoonsful

Spelling Note

The plurals of nouns ending in -ful are usually formed by adding -s to the suffix: two cupfuls; two scant teaspoonfuls. Perhaps influenced by the phrase in which a noun is followed by the adjective full ( both arms full of packages ), some speakers and writers pluralize such nouns by adding -s before the suffix: two cupsful.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ful¹

Middle English, Old English -full, -ful, representing full, ful full ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ful¹

Old English -ful, -full , from full ¹

Example Sentences

The tahini also plays a central role in the superb ful medames on the brunch menu, making for a version of the stew in which the fava beans, still holding their shape, are buried in the creamy paste.

From Washington Post

In her beautiful 2018 book, “Feast: Food of the Islamic World,” the Lebanon-born author Anissa Helou writes that in Egypt, people take their own pot to a street-food vendor “to have him fill it with ful to eat in the comfort of their home.”

From Washington Post

Ful medames, fava beans cooked low and slow until they’re as soft as can be, are beloved in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and elsewhere in the region.

From Washington Post

Ful medames is cooked ahead to give the favas time to soften and collapse into a creamy spread with a seemingly unlimited capacity to drink up olive oil.

From New York Times

They have had the cafe and restaurant closed for most of the pandemic, but I’m so excited to see them open a new space and I can’t wait to get some of the best ful in the city again.

From Seattle Times

Words That Use -ful

What does -ful mean?

The suffix –ful means “full of,” “characterized by,” “tending to,” “able to,” or “as much as will fill.” It is often used in a variety of technical and everyday terms.

The suffix –ful comes from Old English –full, meaning “full.” The Latin equivalent of –ful is –ōsus, meaning “full of,” which has become the English adjectival suffixes –ose, as in jocose, and –ous, as in glorious. To learn more, check out all four entries.

Examples of -ful

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –ful is beautiful, “having beauty.”

The beauti– part of the word means “beauty,” as in a quality that gives pleasure. The –ful part of the word means “full of,” as we have seen. Beautiful literally translates to “full of beauty.”

What are some words that use the equivalents of the combining form –ful in Middle or Old English?

• careful
• harmful
• shameful
• spoonful
• thoughtful

What are some other forms that –ful may be commonly confused with?

• -fuge
• -fy

Break it down!

Given the meaning of –ful, what does shameful literally mean?