Fuller

How to spell fuller

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce fuller

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does fuller mean?

1. adjectiveMore full; containing or holding more than something compared with it.

Fuller in a sentence

• The second bottle was noticeably fuller than the first.

• Her diary grew fuller as the deadline approached.

Where does fuller come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The everyday sense is simply the comparative of 'full', which descends from the Old English 'full', a native Germanic word meaning 'filled' or 'complete', related to Dutch 'vol' and German 'voll'. Adding the comparative ending '-er' to give 'more full' is one of the oldest and most regular patterns in English grammar. Quite separately, 'fuller' as the name of a trade has a Latin root: it comes from Old English 'fullere', borrowed from the Latin 'fullo', the craftsman who cleaned and thickened newly woven woollen cloth by treading and beating it. That occupation was so common that it survives as one of the most widespread English surnames, and the same idea later named a blacksmith's grooving tool. Because all three senses are spelled and sounded alike, the only spelling point to remember is the doubled 'l' carried straight over from 'full'.

How the word is built

• full (filled, complete)
• -er (comparative suffix; or agent/occupational suffix)