| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
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8. Word Formation: Plurals, Possessives, Affixes, and Compounds
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| § 17. -ful |
| The suffix -ful comes from the Old English adjective full, meaning “full.” Full was commonly added to a noun in order to form adjectives meaning “full of, characterized by” whatever quality was denoted by the noun: playful, careful. The use of -ful to form nouns meaning “a quantity that would fill” a particular receptacle (cupful, mouthful) also goes back to Old English. In modern usage the correct way to form the plural of these nouns is to add an s to the end of the suffix: cupfuls. | 1 |
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| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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