Mid 19th century; earliest use found in Sylvester Judd (1813–1853), novelist. Pronunciation spelling of awful, apparently intended to represent an affected or emphatic pronunciation.
Definition of orful in US English:
orful
adjectiveˈɔːf(ʊ)l
Awful.
Origin
Mid 19th century; earliest use found in Sylvester Judd (1813–1853), novelist. Pronunciation spelling of awful, apparently intended to represent an affected or emphatic pronunciation.