handsome \hand"some\ ha^n"su^m; 277, a. compar.
   handsomer -~er; superl. handsomest. hand + -some.
   it at first meant, dexterous; cf. d. handzaam dexterous,
   ready, limber, manageable, and e. handy.
   1. dexterous; skillful; handy; ready; convenient; -- applied
      to things as persons. obs.
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            that they engines of war be both easy to be
            carried and handsome to be moved and turned about.
                                                  --robynson
                                                  utopia.
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            for a thief it is so handsome as it may seem it was
            first invented for him.               --spenser.
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   2. agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a
      pleasing appearance or expression; attractive; having
      symmetry and dignity; comely; -- expressing more than
      pretty, and less than beautiful; as, a handsome man or
      woman; a handsome garment, house, tree, horse.
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   3. suitable or fit in action; marked with propriety and ease;
      graceful; becoming; appropriate; as, a handsome style,
      etc.
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            easiness and handsome address in writing. --felton.
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   4. evincing a becoming generosity or nobleness of character;
      liberal; generous.
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            handsome is as handsome does.         --old proverb.
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   5. ample; moderately large.
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            he . . . accumulated a handsome sum of money. --v.
                                                  knox.
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   to do the handsome thing, to act liberally. colloq.

   syn: handsome, pretty.

   usage: pretty applies to things comparatively small, which
          please by their delicacy and grace; as, a pretty girl,
          a pretty flower, a pretty cottage. handsome rises
          higher, and is applied to objects on a larger scale.
          we admire what is handsome, we are pleased with what
          is pretty. the word is connected with hand, and has
          thus acquired the idea of training, cultivation,
          symmetry, and proportion, which enters so largely into
          our conception of handsome. thus drayton makes mention
          of handsome players, meaning those who are well
          trained; and hence we speak of a man's having a
          handsome address, which is the result of culture; of a
          handsome horse or dog, which implies well proportioned
          limbs; of a handsome face, to which, among other
          qualities, the idea of proportion and a graceful
          contour are essential; of a handsome tree, and a
          handsome house or villa. so, from this idea of
          proportion or suitableness, we have, with a different
          application, the expressions, a handsome fortune, a
          handsome offer.
          1913 webster
see also:
handsomer handsomest to do the handsome thing handsome pretty