full
pronunciation
How to pronounce full in British English:
UK [fʊl]
How to pronounce full in American English:
US [fʊl]
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- Verb:
- beat for the purpose of cleaning and thickening
- make (a garment) fuller by pleating or gathering
- increase in phase
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- Adjective:
- containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
- constituting the full quantity or extent; complete
- complete in extent or degree and in every particular
- filled to satisfaction with food or drink
- (of sound) having marked depth and body
- having the normally expected amount
- being at a peak or culminating point
- not separated into parts or shares; constituting an undivided unit
- having ample fabric
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- Adverb:
- to the greatest degree or extent; completely or entirely; (`full' in this sense is used as a combining form)
Word Origin
- full
- full: [OE] Full and its verbal derivative fill go back ultimately to the Indo-European base *plē-, which also produced Latin plēnus ‘full’ (source of English plenary, plenty, and replenish, and of French plein and Italian pieno ‘full’) and English complete, deplete [19] (literally ‘unfill, empty’), implement, plebeian, plethora, plural, plus, replete [14], supply, and surplus [14].The Indo- European derivative *plnós passed into prehistoric Germanic as *fulnaz, which eventually became *fullaz, source of German voll, Dutch vol, and Swedish and English full. Fulfil dates from the late Old English period; it originally meant literally ‘fill full, fill up’.=> complete, deplete, fill, implement, plenty, plethora, plural, plus, replete, supply, surplus
- full (adj.)
- Old English full "containing all that can be received; having eaten or drunk to repletion; filled; perfect, entire, utter," from Proto-Germanic *fulla- "full" (cognates: Old Saxon full, Old Frisian ful, Dutch vol, Old High German fol, German voll, Old Norse fullr, Gothic fulls), from PIE *pele- (1) "to fill" (see poly-). Related: Fuller; fullest. The adverb is Old English ful "very, fully, entirely, completely" and was common in Middle English (full well, full many, etc.); sense of "quite, exactly, precisely" is from 1580s. Full moon, one with its whole disc illuminated, was Old English fulles monan; first record of full-blood in reference to racial purity is from 1812. Full house is 1710 in the theatrical sense, 1887 in the poker sense (three of a kind and a pair, earlier full-hand, 1850). Full-dress (adj.) "appropriate to a formal occasion" is from 1761, from the noun phrase.
- full (v.)
- "to tread or beat cloth to cleanse or thicken it," late 14c., from Old French foler, fouler "trample on, press," from Latin fullo "fuller, launderer," also a kind of beetle, a word of unknown etymology. Perhaps the Middle English word was from Old English agent-noun fullere, which probably was formed from Latin fullo with a native ending.
- full (n.)
- early 14c., from Old English fyllo, fyllu "fullness (of food), satiety;" also from full (adj.).
Example
- 1. A city is full of crazies .
- 2. But that is not the full story .
- 3. The kitchen is full of cake .
- 4. Full separation suffers from two objections .
- 5. Forgives me for encouraging the full course of treatment .