Search the Dictionary

Pleasing or agreeable to the sight; well-proportioned; good- looking; handsome. He that is comely when old and decrepit, surely was very beautiful when he was young. South. Not once perceive their foul disfigurement But boast themselves more comely than before. Milton.

the Middle Ages for Spanish leather (goatskin tanned and dressed), and hence, any leather handsomely finished, colored, gilded, or the like. Buskins he wore of costliest cordwain. Spenser.

A handsomely banded, coral-reef fish, of Florida and the West Indies (Pomacentrus saxatilis); -- called also mojarra.

Wearing a cravat. The young men faultlessly appointed, handsomely cravatted. Thackeray.

The root of a handsome erect herb (Leptandra, syn. Veronica, Virginica) common in most moist woods of North America , used as an active cathartic and emetic; also, the plant itself.

To beat or bruise; to drub; -- said of persons. I have seen him curry a fellow's carcass handsomely. Beau. & FL. To curry favor, to seek to gain favor by flattery or attentions. See Favor, n.

rous mammal (Prionodon gracilis), resembling the civets, but without scent pouches. It is handsomely spotted.

goddess Artemis. And chaste Diana haunts the forest shade. Pope. Diana monkey (Zoöl.), a handsome, white-bearded monkey of West Africa (Cercopithecus Diana).

A handsome fish of Florida and the West Indies (Platyglossus radiatus). The name is applied also to the ladyfish (Harpe rufa) of the same region.

to clothe; to deck. Dressed myself in such humility. Shak. Prove that ever Idress myself handsome till thy return. Shak.

Germany or of Austria; the emperor or Czar of Russia. Emperor goose (Zoöl.), a large and handsome goose (Philacte canagica), found in Alaska. -- Emperor moth (Zoöl.), one of several large and beautiful bombycid moths, with transparent spots on the wings; as the American Cecropia moth (Platysamia cecropia), and the Eu…

Pleasing to the eye; handsome; beautiful. Who can not see many a fair French city, for one fair French made. Shak.

Having features; showing marked peculiarities; handsome. [R.] Featurely warriors of Christian chivalry. Coleridge.

Any plant of the genus Digitalis. The common English foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is a handsome perennial or biennial plant, whose leaves are used as a powerful medicine, both as a sedative and diuretic. See Digitalis. Pan through the pastures oftentimes hath run To pluck the speckled foxgloves from their stem. W. Bro…

Handy; reat; handsome; notable. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

A handsome breed of the common fowl, remarkable for the great courage and pugnacity of the males.

the genus Trollius (T. Europæus), found in the mountainous parts of Europe, and producing handsome globe-shaped flowers.

American genus of herbaceous plants with very handsome bell- shaped blossoms; -- named after B. P. Gloxin, a German botanist.

Any species of Goliathus, a genus of very large and handsome African beetles.

Handsome.