Colourful

How to spell colourful

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce colourful

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does colourful mean?

1. adjectiveHaving many bright colours, or being vivid and lively in character.

Colourful in a sentence

• The market stalls were full of colourful fruit and flowers.

• She chose a colourful scarf to brighten the grey suit.

Where does colourful come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word builds on 'colour', which English took from Old French 'colour' (modern 'couleur') in the 1300s, itself descended from the Latin 'color', meaning a hue, tint, or outward appearance. The Latin root is thought to be related to 'celare', meaning 'to conceal or cover', the idea being that colour is the surface that covers a thing. English then added the native Germanic suffix '-ful', meaning 'full of', to create an adjective describing something rich in colour, a pattern seen in words like 'beautiful' and 'wonderful'. The form 'colourful' itself is fairly modern, becoming common only in the nineteenth century, when its sense broadened from literally bright to figuratively vivid, lively, or eccentric. The British and Canadian spelling preserves the French 'u' in 'colour', which is exactly the letter American writers drop, making it the central spelling trap here.

How the word is built

• colour (from Latin color: hue, tint)
• -ful (full of, adjective suffix)

British and American spelling

Colourful is the British spelling. American English spells it colorful.