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

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

Ful is a dish I was familiar with having had Arab friends growing up whose parents would make it at home.

From Washington Post

Electric guitars only get touched gently, even when they’re being touched in a hurry, like over the motorik putter of “Ful Stop,” or the spartan click-clack of “Identikit.”

From Washington Post

A single mistake festers and rots at the core of "Ful Stop" — "you really messed up everything" — until it erupts into the album’s most exciting band-driven sequence.

From The Verge