What does 足有 mean?

Question

I found this in Matilda (p.13):

这本书的这一版本足有四百一十一页。
that edition contained four hundred and eleven pages. [original English (ref.)]
the book's [这本书的] edition [这一版本] has (?) [足有] 411 pages [四百一十一页].

The translation is direct, except for 足有 instead of just 有. I've found other examples of 足有 online, e.g.:

等你回到家，你的收件箱足有一英尺厚。 [YouDao]
When you come back, your inbox is a foot high.

I'm aware 足 is sometimes used to mean "enough": 足: why is "foot" also "enough"? So maybe 足 is used for emphasis in these sentences, but it'd be nice to clarify this.

Question: What does 足有 mean?

Answer 1

「足」means fully, entirely.

...這一版本足有四百一十一頁

---

...this edition contains four hundred and eleven pages in its entirety

or

...this edition contains a full four hundred and eleven pages

The semantic relation is something like

sufficient/enough (足夠) <> full <> entire

Answer 2

ABC defines 足有 as:

V.
(have/be) a full ...

他讲了足有两个钟头。
Tā jiǎngle zúyǒu liǎng ge zhōngtóu.
He lectured for a full two hours.

Answer 3

足有 (fully have) has the same meaning as 足足: fully (e.g. one year, a hundred ounces)

足有四百一十一页 (fully have 411 pages)

足足有四百一十一页 (fully have 411 pages)

足足四百一十一页 (fully 411 pages)

All the above mean: "has 411 pages in its entirety"

Notice:

足 in 足有 means "fully". It is different from the 足 in 足以, which means "enough" . E.g. "要達到 1500c 才足以將铁熔化" (need to reach 1500c, to be enough to melt iron)

The reason to use 足有(fully have) instead of just 有(have) is to emphasize the impressiveness of the number.

For example:

太阳有地球130万倍的体积 - The sun has the volumes of 1.3 million Earths (a plain statement)

太阳足有地球130万倍的体积 - The sun actually has the volumes of 1.3 million Earths (stress the impressiveness of the number)

Answer 4

It is just 足. There is no single word 足有, just 足 and 有 separately. It means "in full, wholly":

你的收件箱足有一英尺厚

"Your mailing trunk is fully / wholly possessed of all the thickness comprehended by one English foot."

To break it down:

你的 (your) + 收件箱 (mailing box / trunk) + 足 (fully or "is fully") + 有 (possessing) + 一 (one) + 英尺 (English foot, the unit of measure, 304.8 mm) + 厚 (thick, big, fat, plump, etc.).

So it's more for laying especial emphasis on the fact that the mailbox (or I presume, a synecdoche for the stack of papers within, as that seems to make more sense), is so big as named.

Answer 5

it's a bit like 'a mouthful of ...'