Origin and history of changeful

c. 1200, chaunge, "act or fact of changing," from Anglo-French chaunge, Old French change "exchange, recompense, reciprocation," from changier "to alter; exchange; to switch" (see change (v.)). Related: Changes.

The meaning "a different situation, variety, novelty" is from 1680s (as in for a change, 1690s). The meaning "something substituted for something else" is attested by 1590s. The sense of "place where merchants meet to do business" is from c. 1400. The meaning "the passing from life to death" is biblical (1610s).

The financial sense of "balance of money returned after deducting the price of a purchase from the sum paid" is recorded by 1620s; hence to make change (by 1865).

The bell-ringing sense is from 1610s, "any sequence other than the diatonic;" hence the figurative phrase ring changes "repeat in every possible order" (1610s). The figurative phrase change of heart is from 1828. In reference to women, change of life "final cessation of menstruation" is recorded from 1834.

word-forming element attached to nouns (and in modern English to verb stems) and meaning "full of, having, characterized by," also "amount or volume contained" (handful, bellyful); from Old English -full, -ful, which is full (adj.) become a suffix by being coalesced with a preceding noun, but originally a separate word. Cognate with German -voll, Old Norse -fullr, Danish -fuld. Most English -ful adjectives at one time or another had both passive ("full of x") and active ("causing x; full of occasion for x") senses.

It is rare in Old English and Middle English, where full was much more commonly attached at the head of a word (for example Old English fulbrecan "to violate," fulslean "to kill outright," fulripod "mature;" Middle English had ful-comen "attain (a state), realize (a truth)," ful-lasting "durability," ful-thriven "complete, perfect," etc.).