Lufsom

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Deserving of love or affection, and pleasing to the heart in a gentle, endearing way
2. Lovable and agreeable, having a charm that inspires fondness in others
3. Pleasant and winning, the kind of quality that makes someone easy to cherish

Etymology: "Lufsom" is an Old English-derived adjective meaning "worthy of fondness" or "lovable," built from "lufian," the Old English verb "to love," plus the suffix "-sum," which forms adjectives meaning "having the quality of" (as in "handsome" or "wholesome"). The root is the same as in "love" itself, and it is a close relative of the Old Norse and Old High German forms, showing the word is part of the old Germanic vocabulary of affection that English inherited directly rather than borrowing from Latin or French. The word has been recorded in English only sparingly, mostly in dialect and older writing, which is why it can feel unfamiliar. Its survival in dictionaries owes less to continuous everyday use than to the many lexicographers who collected obsolete and regional English words.