'awful' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'egefull', where 'ege' meant 'fear' or 'terror' and the suffix '-full' meant 'full of'.

'awful' changed from Old English 'egefull' into Middle English forms such as 'awful' and later developed the noun 'awfulness' by adding the suffix '-ness' in Modern English.

Initially, it meant 'inspiring awe' (awe-inspiring or fearsome), but over time the dominant modern sense shifted toward 'very bad' or 'terrible'; the older 'awe-inspiring' sense still exists in some contexts.