Anyways, one day while we were driving, and listening to Josh Groban, she says to me "Mom, he's so handsome", so I wondered, what exactly is she talking about? I figured it was that she appreciated the "handsome" sounds of his voice and music. The other day, she played a song on my phone and I thought I'd introduce her to the music video. Her song of choice, Covered in Rain by John Mayer. While watching the video, she says, "He's so handsome", so later on I asked her what she meant by handsome and she replied, "you know, wearing a tie, marryable, and the kind of thing that girls like". So, it got me thinking, what is the origin of the word handsome?
The history of the word "handsome" according to http://word-ancestry.livejournal.com/13941.html:
"The original sense was of something 'easy to handle, ready at hand', which led to the word being used in some contexts to mean 'suitable, apt'. By 1577, this had become 'fair-size, considerable', meaning that it took all of one's hand to use or wield it. It wasn't until the very end of the 16th century that the modern definition of 'having fine form or quality, good-looking' took effect."
"The original sense was of something 'easy to handle, ready at hand', which led to the word being used in some contexts to mean 'suitable, apt'. By 1577, this had become 'fair-size, considerable', meaning that it took all of one's hand to use or wield it. It wasn't until the very end of the 16th century that the modern definition of 'having fine form or quality, good-looking' took effect."
Merriam-Webster defines handsome as:
"Having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance".
How would I define handsome? Unfortunately, not as simple as my sweet Chloe, but in staying true to the etymology of the word, my definition would go something like this: authentic, dependable, compassionate, and empathetic. Nowhere in the origin of the word did it mention appearance; that was added much later. I prefer to think of handsome as "suitable", which equals "marryable" (Chloe's word).
So, in consideration of the above references, Chloe was pretty spot on in her definition. I appreciate the words she chose and that it actually encompasses a lot more possibilities and takes appearance out of the equation, which in my honest opinion also enhances the quality of the individual. Isn't what's inside that counts the most?
"Having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance".
How would I define handsome? Unfortunately, not as simple as my sweet Chloe, but in staying true to the etymology of the word, my definition would go something like this: authentic, dependable, compassionate, and empathetic. Nowhere in the origin of the word did it mention appearance; that was added much later. I prefer to think of handsome as "suitable", which equals "marryable" (Chloe's word).
So, in consideration of the above references, Chloe was pretty spot on in her definition. I appreciate the words she chose and that it actually encompasses a lot more possibilities and takes appearance out of the equation, which in my honest opinion also enhances the quality of the individual. Isn't what's inside that counts the most?
