c. 1400, handsom "easy to handle, ready at hand," from hand (n.) + -some (1). Sense extended to "fit, appropriate" (1550s, implied in handsomely), then "having fine form, good-looking, agreeable to the eye" (1580s). Meaning "generous, on a liberal scale" (of rewards, etc.) first recorded 1680s.
[Americans] use the word "handsome" much more extensively than we do: saying that Webster made a handsome speech in the Senate: that a lady talks handsomely, (eloquently:) that a book sells handsomely. A gentleman asked me on the Catskill Mountain, whether I thought the sun handsomer there than at New York. [Harriet Martineau, "Society in America," 1837]
Related: Handsomeness. For sense development, compare pretty (adj.). Similar formation in Dutch handzaam "tractable, serviceable."
实用例句
1. The opposition won a handsome victory in the election.
反对党在竞选中以高票获胜。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Tom was in some ways a younger clone of his handsome father.
汤姆某些地方长得和他那帅气的父亲一模一样，只是年轻一些。
来自柯林斯例句
3. He was a slim, solemn, darkly handsome young man.
