well-appointed

English

WOTD – 23 January 2025

Etymology

PIE word
*h₂éd

From well (adverb) +‎ appointed (“provided with necessities, equipped, fitted-out”, adjective).^[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌwɛləˈpɔɪntɪd/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌwɛləˈpɔɪn(t)ɪd/
Rhymes: -ɔɪntɪd
Hyphenation: well-ap‧point‧ed

Adjective

well-appointed (comparative better-appointed or more well-appointed, superlative best-appointed or most well-appointed)

Chiefly of accommodation: properly supplied with a complete set of whatever furniture, equipment, etc., is needed; fully equipped or fitted-out; also, beautifully decorated.
a well-appointed kitchen
- c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], signature [F4], recto:
  VVhat vvel appointed Leader fronts vs heere?
- 1627, Michaell [i.e., Michael] Drayton, “The Miseries of Queene Margarite”, in The Battaile of Agincourt. […], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for William Lee, […], →OCLC, page 100:
  She to the Scottiſh her faire courſe adreſt, / Nor vvould deſiſt till ſhe had raiſde agen, / Ten thouſand valient vvell-appointed men.
- 1785, William Cowper, “Tirocinium: Or, A Review of Schools”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC, page 328:
  In him, thy vvell appointed proxy ſee, / Armed for a vvork too difficult for thee, […]
- 1959 February, G[eoffrey] Freeman Allen, “Southampton—Gateway to the Ocean”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 92:
  Boat trains are dealt with on either side of a 1,010-ft. long island platform, from which escalators and lifts convey passengers and luggage to the vast upper floor, laid out on the modern, spacious and well-appointed lines that ought to grace the concourse of all the biggest and busiest stations in the country.

Derived terms

well-appointedness

Translations

chiefly of accommodation: properly supplied with a complete set of whatever furniture, equipment, etc., is needed — see equipped

beautifully decorated — see decorated

References

^ “well-appointed, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “well appointed, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

[1] “well-appointed, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “well appointed, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

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