(no subject)

[jackofallgeeks]

So it once occured to me that it was odd that "aweful" means bad when "awe"
is a good sort of thing and "-ful" means it's full of it.
Today it occured to me that maybe "aweful" as we know it some how came from
the word "offal."
I should get back to work.

Comments

[dikaiosunh.livejournal.com]

Nope - same root. The old sense of "awful" is "inspiring fear or terror." It got to our use via the fact that fear and terror are bad. "Awe" used to mean not just good, but good in a way that inspired fear and trembling.

[bsgnome.livejournal.com]

For the most part, yes -ful can be said to mean "full of," it also possesses the sense of "tending to" or "able to," whereas -some has the sense of "being characterized by," akin to -ly (-like). In all honesty, the distinction between these two suffices is tenuous, this is clear from the fact that "fearful" and "fearsome" are sometimes used synonymously.

These days, "awesome" and "awful" are very close in meaning, though the one has positive connotations and the other negative. Originally, "Awe" meant fear or anguish. "Fear" derives from a noun for an attack or ambush, which is understandable considering the silent understanding that fear is only applicable to nigh immediate danger (if a long term fear, you are more likely to say you dread it). "Anguish" shares a common root with "anger" and "angst," indicating an emotional, rather than rational, state (though, awe, fear, and dread are only rational by comparison).

Back to the point, however, the only reason "awe" possesses positive connotations is because of it's association with the divine. Even today, though, "awe" is used to express a mixture of fear, dread, reverence, respect, and wonder inspired by (nigh) inconceivable greatness.