Beautiful

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈbjuːtɪ.fəl/

Definitions

1. Pleasing to the senses or mind, especially through harmony, elegance, or grace
2. Attractive in appearance or nature, evoking admiration or delight through form, color, or charm
3. Possessing qualities that inspire profound appreciation or pleasure, often in a visually or artistically appealing manner

Etymology: Beautiful is a compound of "beauty" and the suffix "-ful," and it became a word in English by rebuilding the older noun rather than arriving as a single borrowed piece. The noun "beauty" traces back through Middle English "beaute" and Anglo-Norman "biauté," and behind those lies a Latin chain that runs from "bellus," meaning "fine" or "handsome," through the suffix "-itās" and the Vulgar Latin form "bellitātem." That Latin "bellus" itself descends from an older Italic word "duenos," which is related to the Proto-Indo-European root for "good," a surprising ancestor for a word now about visual appeal. The "-ful" ending is native English, so the adjective is a hybrid of Romance and Germanic parts. In Middle English it appeared as "bewteful" and "beautefull," meaning "attractive to the eye," and it gradually took over this sense from the Old English word "fæġer," which survives today as "fair."

Synonyms: attractive, pretty, lovely, gorgeous, stunning

Antonyms: ugly, unattractive, unsightly, plain, repulsive