commodious

commodious
\ \ [15] Latin commodus meant ‘convenient’. It was a compound adjective formed from com- ‘with’ and modusmeasure’, and thus meaning literally ‘conforming with due measure’. From it was derived the medieval Latin adjective commodiōsus, which passed, probably via French commodieux, into English.
\ \ This originally meant ‘advantageous, useful, convenient’, and it was not really until the 16th century that it developed the meaning ‘affording a conveniently large amount of space’. The noun derivative commodity entered English in the 14th century, and from earliest times had the concrete meaning ‘article of commerce’, deriving from the more general sense ‘something useful’. Commodus was borrowed into French as commodeconvenient’, which came to be used as a noun meaning both ‘tall headdress for women’ and ‘chest of drawers’. English adopted the word in the 17th century, and in the 19th century added the new sense ‘chair housing a chamber pot’ (a semantic development paralleling the euphemistic use of convenience for lavatory).
\ \ Cf.COMMODE, COMMODITY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Commodious — Com*mo di*ous, a. [LL. commodiosus, fr. L. commodum convenience, fr. commodus. See {Commode}.] Adapted to its use or purpose, or to wants and necessities; serviceable; spacious and convenient; roomy and comfortable; as, a commodious house. A… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • commodious — index ample, capacious, convenient, extensive, practical, suitable Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • commodious — early 15c., beneficial, convenient, from M.L. commodiosus convenient, useful, from L. commodus (see COMMODE (Cf. commode)). Meaning roomy, spacious first attested 1550s …   Etymology dictionary

  • commodious — capacious, *spacious, ample Analogous words: *comfortable: Marge, big, great: *broad, wide, deep Contrasted words: circumscribed, confined, limited, restricted (see LIMIT vb): inconvenient, incommodious (see corresponding verbs at INCONVENIENCE) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • commodious — [adj] ample, spacious big, capacious, comfortable, convenient, expansive, extensive, large, loose, roomy, wide; concepts 773,781 Ant. confined, cramped, inconvenient, small, squeezed, uncomfortable …   New thesaurus

  • commodious — ► ADJECTIVE formal ▪ roomy and comfortable. ORIGIN Latin commodus convenient …   English terms dictionary

  • commodious — [kə mō′dē əs] adj. [ME, convenient < ML commodiosus < L commodus: see COMMODE] offering plenty of room; spacious; roomy commodiously adv. commodiousness n …   English World dictionary

  • commodious — commodiously, adv. commodiousness, n. /keuh moh dee euhs/, adj. 1. spacious and convenient; roomy: a commodious apartment. 2. ample or adequate for a particular purpose: a commodious harbor. [1375 1425; late ME < ML commodiosus, equiv. to L… …   Universalium

  • commodious — com|mo|di|ous [kəˈməudiəs US ˈmou ] adj formal [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: commodious useful (15 18 centuries), from French commodieux, from Latin commodus; COMMODE] a house or room that is commodious is very big …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • commodious — adjective Etymology: Middle English, fertile, useful, modification of Medieval Latin commodosus, from Latin commodum convenience, from neuter of commodus Date: 15th century 1. comfortably or conveniently spacious ; …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • commodious — adjective /kəˈməʊdiəs,kəˈmoʊdiəs/ a) Spacious and convenient; roomy and comfortable. Last years model was much more commodious than the cars built now, for fuel efficiency. b) Adapted to its use or purpose, or to wants and necessities; suitable.… …   Wiktionary

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