a. (sb.) Also 4–6 con-. [a. Anglo-F. confortable, f. confort-er to COMFORT, on L. type *confortābilis; for the active force of the suffix, see -BLE, last paragraph. (Mod. F. confortable is from Eng.)]
A. adj. I. With active sense.
† 1. Strengthening or supporting (morally, or spiritually); encouraging, inspiriting, reassuring, cheering. Obs. or arch.
c. 1400. Beryn, 721. His wordis been so comfortabill.
c. 1500. Lancelot, 2651. Seing al the gret suppris Of fois cummyng … Togiddir al his cumpany he drew, And confortable wordis to them schew.
1547–8. Ordre of Communion, 4. The moste confortable Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christe.
1587. Fleming, Contn. Holinshed, III. 1998/1. The valiant prowesse of the English souldiers, incouraged with the comfortable presence of sir William Cobham.
1641. Hinde, J. Bruen, xxxii. 100. With great and comfortable successe.
1713. Berkeley, Hylas & Phil., Pref. The comfortable expectation of Immortality.
1739. Cibber, Apol. (1756), I. 2. I have such comfortable numbers on my side.
1774. Burke, Corr. (1844), I. 497. Your last letter was not comfortable.
1869. Tennyson, Coming of Arthur, 267. He spake and cheer’d his Table Round With large divine and comfortable words.
† 2. Helpful, serviceable, advantageous. Obs.
1575–6. Thynne, in Animadv., Introd. 54. The comfortable ayde of the golden sheife.
1725. De Foe, Voy. round World (1840), 344. Their … canoes which had been so comfortable to them.
† 3. Strengthening or refreshing to the bodily faculties or organs; sustaining. Obs.
c. 1440. Gesta Rom., 338 (Camb. MS.). It most be wyne comfortable þat shold be yeue to the syke.
1568. Turner, Herbal, III. 40. [Nutmegs] are … comfortable for the stomache.
1614. Markham, Cheap Husb., I. i. (1668), 7. After you have let him blood … give him a comfortable drench.
1744. Berkeley, Siris, § 77. Cured by this comfortable cordial.
1756. C. Lucas, Ess. Waters, III. 264. Vapor baths … to the comfortable relief of many diseases.
1816. Scott, Old Mort., iv. The comfortable creature, which the carnal denominate brandy. [Factitious archaism.]
† 4. Pleasing or grateful to the senses. Obs.
c. 1400. Beryn, 697. Many … flouris … That lusty been, and confortabill for mannys siȝte!
1576. Fleming, Panoplie Ep., 340. The sweet and comfortable sounde of musicall instrumentes.
1659. Vulgar Errours Censured, i. § 4. 9. The comfortable blush of the approaching Morne.
1713. Derham, Phys. Theol., II. iii. 45. The comfortable Changes of Day and Night.
† 5. Affording mental or spiritual delight or enjoyment; pleasant, enjoyable. Obs.
c. 1340. Hampole, Prose Tr., i. 2. Desederabill es thi name, lufabyll and comfortabyll.
1515. Barclay, Egloges, I. (1570), A ij/3. Mery talking is greatly comfortable.
1535. Coverdale, Ps. liii. 6. [I will] prayse thy name o Lorde, because it is so comfortable.
1632. Lithgow, Trav., IX. (1682), 379. My Singular good friend … whose presence to me … was exceeding Comfortable.
1748. Hartley, Observ. Man, II. iii. 310. The Love of God, and the constant comfortable Sense of his Presence.
† b. Satisfactory; also colloq. ‘tolerable,’ ‘fair,’ ‘pretty good.’ Obs.
1658. Whole Duty Man, xiv. § 9. 109. To enable their pastors to give a comfortable account of their souls.
1720. Derby Post-Man, I. No. 10. 4. A large, massy Caudle Cup, a comfortable piece of Plate.
1728. Vanbr. & Cib., Prov. Husb., II. i. Sir F. The Boy has a strong Head! M. Yes, truly, his Skull seems to be of a comfortable Thickness.
6. Affording or conveying consolation; comforting, consolatory: of persons (obs.) or things (arch.).
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. XIV. 281. Contricioun is confortable þinge, and a solace to þe soule.
1430. Lydg., Chron. Troy, III. xxvi. Hym … That was to her … So kynde founde and so comfortable.
1529. More, Comf. agst. Trib., II. Wks. 1200/2. Let him be pitteous & comfortable, to those that are in distresse.
1593. Shaks., Rich. II., II. ii. 76. For heauens sake speake comfortable words. Ibid. (1601), All’s Well, I. i. 86. Be comfortable to my mother … and make much of her.
a. 1631. Donne, Serm., I. 507. A despairing Soule will set Gods comfortablest Words to a sad Tune.
1754. Chesterf., Lett., IV. If you still want comfort, Mrs. —— … may, if she will, be very comfortable.
1788. T. Jefferson, Writ. (1859), II. 389. It is a comfortable circumstance.
1869. Goulburn, Purs. Holiness, vii. 57. That most comfortable truth the Paternity of God.
7. Affording or fitted to give tranquil enjoyment and content; attended with or ministering to comfort (see COMFORT sb. 6). This and 10 are the ordinary current uses; and this tends to be commonly treated as a transferred or extended use of 10, a ‘comfortable house’ being thus viewed as a house in which one is comfortable; this is still more manifest in ‘comfortable circumstances.’ Cf. 10 b.
1769. Gray, Jrnl. Tour, 9 Oct., in Mason, Life. Kendal—The buildings (a few comfortable houses excepted) are mean.
1823. Lamb, Elia, Old & New Schm. My companion … left me in the comfortable possession of my ignorance.
1859. Geo. Eliot, A. Bede, I. i. Hitherto Gyp had kept his comfortable bed.
1878. Jevons, Prim. Pol. Econ., 26. If we wish to have comfortable clothes and houses.
Mod. The family was left in comfortable circumstances.
B. absol. quasi-sb.
1793. W. Roberts, Looker-on, No. 59 (1794), II. 384. I have seriously projected a treatise on the comfortable.
1848. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., I. 319. In the buildings … a happy union of the comfortable and the graceful.
II. With passive or neuter sense.
† 8. passively. Capable of being comforted, consolable. Obs. rare–1.
1609. Bible (Douay), Pref. Sorow … not so much for our owne affliction, for that is comfortable, but for you.
† 9. In a state of consolation; ‘of good comfort,’ cheerful, cheery. Obs.
a. 1593. H. Smith, Wks. (1866–7), I. 393. Paul saith, ‘God comforteth us, that we may be able to comfort others … shewing that we cannot comfort others unless we be comfortable ourselves.
1600. Shaks., A. Y. L., II. vi. 10. For my sake be comfortable. Ibid. (1607), Timon, III. iv. 71. His comfortable temper has forsooke him.
1755. Mrs. Delany, Life & Corr. (1861), III. 365. I despair of writing a comfortable letter while I stay at the Bath.
10. In a state of tranquil enjoyment and content; free from pain and trouble; at ease. (Usually, but not always, in reference to physical conditions or circumstances.)
1770. H. Walpole, Lett. to G. Montagu, 1 July. Mrs. White … has given me a good fire and some excellent coffee and bread and butter, and I am as comfortable as possible.
1811. Jane Austen, Sense & Sens. (1866), 9. Do but consider … how excessively comfortable your mother-in-law and her daughter may live.
1828. Scott, Diary, 27 April, in Lockhart. Let it freeze without, we are comfortable within.
1858. J. Martineau, Stud. Chr., 271. [The Church] relies … on the dislike felt by the comfortable classes towards the trouble of thought and the disturbance of feeling.
1872. Geo. Eliot, Middlem., xli. Here is your poor mother … you could afford something handsome now to make her comfortable.
Mod. I am not [or I do not feel] quite comfortable about the matter.
b. Expressing or characterized by comfort; easy and tranquil; undisturbed; also colloq. of persons, suggestive of complacency, placidly self-satisfied.
1856. J. H. Newman, Callista, 48. There’s Bacchus: he’s a good, comfortable god, though a sly, treacherous fellow.
1865. Dickens, Mut. Fr., IV. xii. ‘Why argue?’ returned Mr. Inspector in a comfortable sort of remonstrance.
1872. Geo. Eliot, Middlem., v. ‘Go to bed soon,’ said Celia, in a comfortable way, without any touch of pathos.
1878. R. H. Hutton, Scott, i. 5. A motherly comfortable woman.
11. Comb., as comfortable-looking adj.
1850. Anne Marsh-Caldwell, The Wilmingtons, III. xiv. 156. The mistress of the hotel … showed each a comfortable-looking bed-room.
1875. W. M‘Ilwraith, Guide to Wigtownshire, 48. Comfortable-looking two-storey houses.
B. sb.
† 1. That which gives comfort; pl. comforts (see COMFORT sb. 5 c, 7). Obs.
1650. O. Sedgwick, Christ the Life, 22. Whatsoever the Christian finds in Himself … for the Habituals of Grace … and … for the Comfortables of Grace.
1675. Brooks, Gold. Key, Wks. 1867, V. 327. The returning prodigal hath garments, and ornaments, and necessaries, and comfortables.
2. a. A worsted covering for the wrist. b. A long woollen scarf worn round the neck in cold weather; = COMFORTER 6. c. (U.S.) A quilted bed-covering; a down quilt: = COMFORT sb. 8.
1835. Sir J. Ross, Arct. Exp., iii. 42. A blue jacket and trousers, a flannel shirt, a comfortable.
1839. Lady Lytton, Cheveley (ed. 2), III. i. 11. Their faces half hid in green worsted comfortables.
1844. Mar. Edgeworth, Frank, a Sequel (1854), II. 9. Knitting … a pair of scarlet worsted cuffs or bracelets, by some called wristlets, by others comfortables.
1864. Webster, Comfortable, a … stuffed or quilted coverlet for a bed; a comforter; a comfort. (U.S.)
1874. Mrs. Whitney, We Girls, vii. 155. Ruth brought some pillows and comfortables … made up a couch … on the box-sofa.
