Archaic or rare term meaning heavy, burdensome, or characterized by heaviness.
From 'heavy' + '-some' (suffix meaning 'characterized by' or 'full of'). The '-some' suffix comes from Old English 'sum' meaning 'characterized by' and appears in words like 'troublesome' and 'lonesome.' This formation was more productive in Middle and Early Modern English.
'-Some' words are becoming rarer in modern English—we used to say 'irksome' and 'burdensome' more often, but now we prefer '-y' adjectives like 'heavy' or '-ful' like 'burdenful'! Language slowly abandons some suffix patterns in favor of others.
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