Meaning

adjective pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion; ; ; ; - Thackeray; - Lillian Hellman

adjective given or giving freely

originFrom Middle English handsum, hondsom, equivalent to hand + -some. Compare Dutch handzaam, German Low German handsaam. The original sense was “easy to handle or use”, hence “suitable” and “apt, clever” (mid-16th century), giving rise to the current appreciatory senses (late 16th century).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0