Old English full "containing all that can be received; having eaten or drunk to repletion; filled; perfect, entire, utter," from Proto-Germanic *fullaz "full" (source also of Old Saxon full, Old Frisian ful, Dutch vol, Old High German fol, German voll, Old Norse fullr, Gothic fulls), from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill." Related: Fuller; fullest.

The adverb is Old English ful "very, fully, entirely, completely" and was common in Middle English (full well, full many, etc.); sense of "quite, exactly, precisely" is from 1580s. Full moon, one with its whole disc illuminated, was Old English fulles monan; first record of full-blood in reference to racial purity is from 1812. Full house is 1710 in the theatrical sense, 1887 in the poker sense (three of a kind and a pair, earlier full-hand, 1850). Full-dress (adj.) "appropriate to a formal occasion" is from 1761, from the noun phrase.

"as much as the arms can hold; what one can embrace," 1570s, from arm (n.1) + -ful.

1610s, "learned, well-versed in the (liberal) arts," also "characterized by technical skill, artistic," from art (n.) + -ful. The meaning "cunning, crafty, skilled in adapting means to ends" is from 1739. Related: Artfully; artfulness. The Artful Dodger (Jack Dawkins) is from Dickens' "Oliver Twist" (1837-39).

c. 1300, agheful, aueful, "worthy of respect or fear, striking with awe; causing dread," from aghe, an earlier form of awe (n.), + -ful. The Old English word was egefull. The weakened sense of "very bad" is by 1809; the weakened sense of "excessively; very great" is by 1818. It formerly also was occasionally used in a sense of "profoundly reverential, full of awe" (1590s).

"as much as a bag will hold," c. 1300, bagge-ful, from bag (n.) + -ful.

Old English bealufull "dire, wicked, cruel," with -ful + bealu "harm, injury, ruin, evil, mischief, wickedness, a noxious thing," from Proto-Germanic *balu- (source also of Old Saxon balu, Old Frisian balu "evil," Old High German balo "destruction," Old Norse bol, Gothic balwjan "to torment"), a word of uncertain etymology.

During Anglo-Saxon times, the noun was in poetic use only (in compounds such as bealubenn "mortal wound," bealuðonc "evil thought"). The equivalent noun is missing in modern German, Danish, and Swedish, and in English bale long has been archaic or poetic only (OED says "Marked obsolete in dictionaries soon after 1600"), while baleful in modern English long has been poetic or literary only. Related: Balefully.

"as much as a barrel will hold," late 14c., from barrel (n.) + -ful.

1540s, "excessively modest, shy and sheepish," with -ful + baishen "to be filled with consternation or dismay" (mid-14c.), from Old French baissier "bring down, humiliate" (see abash). An unusual case of this suffix attached to a verbal stem in the passive sense. Related: Bashfully; bashfulness (1530s).

mid-15c., "pleasing to the eye (or ear) or mind or soul," from beauty + -ful. The beautiful people "the fashionable set" is attested by 1964 in "Vogue" magazine (it also was the title of a 1941 play by U.S. dramatist William Saroyan). As a noun, "that which possesses beauty," from 1756. House Beautiful is from "Pilgrim's Progress," where it is a proper name of a place. Related: Beautifully.

figuratively, "enough and more," 1530s, from belly (n.) + -ful. Older than the literal sense (1570s).