Etymology
Advertisement

appealing (adj.)

1590s, "suppliant, applying to a higher authority," present-participle adjective from appeal (v.). Sense of "attractive" attested by 1854. Related: Appealingly.

Entries linking to appealing

appeal (v.)
early 14c., originally in legal sense of "to call" to a higher judge or court, from Anglo-French apeler "to call upon, accuse," Old French apeler "make an appeal" (11c., Modern French appeler), from Latin appellare "to accost, address, appeal to, summon, name," iterative of appellere "to prepare," from ad "to" (see ad-) + pellere "to beat, push, drive" (from PIE root *pel- (5) "to thrust, strike, drive").

Probably a Roman metaphoric extension of a nautical term for "driving a ship toward a particular landing." Popular modern meaning "be attractive or pleasing" is attested from 1907 (appealing in this sense is from 1891), extended from "address oneself in expectation of a sympathetic response" (1794). Related: Appealed.

Others are reading

Advertisement
Advertisement
Definitions of appealing

appealing (adj.)
able to attract interest or draw favorable attention; "He added an appealing and memorable figure to popular American mythology"- Vincent Starrett;
the idea of having enough money to retire at fifty is very appealing
an appealing sense of humor
appealing (adj.)
(of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings;
Synonyms: sympathetic / likeable / likable
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near appealing

apparent

apparently

apparition

appeach

appeal

appealing

appear

appearance

appeasable

appease

appeasement

© 2001-2022 Douglas Harper