Ful

¹ American  

[fool] / fʊl /

noun

plural

Fuls,

plural

Ful

1. Fulani.

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-ful ² American  

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

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-ful British  

suffix

1. (forming adjectives) full of or characterized by

   painful

   spiteful

   restful

2. (forming adjectives) able or tending to

   helpful

   useful

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

   mouthful

   spoonful

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Spelling

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.

Usage

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.

Etymology

Origin of -ful

Middle English, Old English -full, -ful, representing full, ful 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 • Jan. 3, 2022

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 • Nov. 2, 2021

Ful – we call it maraq digir – is a great way to feed a big family.

From The Guardian • Jul. 14, 2019

Ful means “fava” while medames comes from a Coptic word for “buried.”

From Scientific American • May 13, 2013

Gower says— "Ful of delite, Slepe hath his hous, and of his couche, Within his chambre if I shall touche, Of Hebenus that slepy tre The bordes all aboute be."

From The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare by Ellacombe, Henry Nicholson