leafful

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English leful, leafful, lefful, from Old English lēaffull, ġelēafful (“believing, faithful, full of faith”), equivalent to leave +‎ -ful.

Adjective

leafful (comparative more leafful, superlative most leafful)

1. Alternative form of leaful

Etymology 2

From leaf +‎ -ful.

Noun

leafful (plural leaffuls or leavesful)

1. The amount or measure held by a leaf.
   • 1864, J[ohn] Ross Browne, “Ramble into the Interior”, in Crusoe’s Island: A Ramble in the Footsteps of Alexander Selkirk. With Sketches of Adventure in California and Washoe., New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], page 75:

     “And here goes too!” cried Abraham; and we both, without hesitating any longer, emptied our bowls to the bottom; and so pure and delicious was the water that we emptied half a dozen leavesful more, and never felt a bit afraid that it would hurt us; […]

   • 1891, Laura Daintrey, “A Fallen Queen”, in Murray’s Magazine. A Home and Colonial Periodical for the General Reader., volume X, London: John Murray, […], page 607:

     […] mulberries, served by leavesful, crushed with their own lusciousness; […]

   • 1906, Mark Twain, The Complete Works of Mark Twain:

     When night came, and the village was quiet, some old woman brought me a leafful of rice.

   • 1916 February 15, “Letters from India (N^o. 4). From the Top of the Elephant. A Survey of Lahore.”, in The Western Daily Press, volume 116, number 18,097, Bristol, page 9:

     How can one give any hint of the wonder of the bazaars, as we brush past the overhanging branches of the pipal tree, and long pugarees of many colours hanging on a line across the narrow ways to dry, the cook shops, with the appetising smell of frizzling meat, the bowls of boiling milk, the leavesful of strange confections of sugar and spice; […]

   • 1922, Johnny Gruelle, “Johnny and Janey Meet the Strange Man”, in The Magical Land of Noom, New York, Boston, Toronto, Chicago: P. F. Volland Company, page 29:

     The lemonade was just sweet enough, and Janey drank two large leavesful.

   • 1929 July 4, “Long May It Keep Raining! Thunderstorm Ends Great Drought. People Caught Coatless. Lunch-Hour Rush for Shelter and Tramcars Besieged.”, in Leicester Mercury, section “Every Little Helps”, page 1:

     So overcome was a large tree at the corner of Mayfield-road, Leicester, that it gulped in a few leavesful of reviving rain, and then sank slowly to the ground.

   • 1974, Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology‎^[1], Smithsonian Institution Press, page 245:

     Three leavesful of sap are poured on a cut to stop bleeding.

   • 2012, Octavia E. Butler, Lilith's Brood: Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago:

     "[…] Better than anything I've had for a long time.” He settled to breaking and eating the rest while Akin brought another leafful to Iriarte.