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goodly

adverb

No English definition recorded for this entry.

L191379 on Wikidata ↗

adjective

No English definition recorded for this entry.

L337128 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈɡʊdli/

adj

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *gadanąvṛd. Proto-Germanic *gōdaz Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz Proto-West Germanic *gōdalīk Old English gōdlīċ Middle English goodlich English goodly From Middle English goodly, goodlich, gōdlich, from Old English gōdlīċ (“good, goodly”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōdalīk, from Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz (“good, goodly”); equivalent to good + -ly. Cognate with Dutch goedelijk, goelijk (“harmless, benign”), German gütlich (“friendly”), Icelandic góðlegur (“benign”).

  1. Good; pleasing in appearance; attractive; comely; graceful; pleasant; desirable.

    “Her goodly thighs, whoſe glory did appear, / Like a triumphal Arch,[…]”

    “The diuell can cite Scripture for his purpoſe, / An euill ſoule producing holy witneſſe, / Is like a villaine with a ſmiling cheeke, / A goodly apple rotten at the heart. / O what a goodly outſide falſehood hath.”

  2. Quite large; considerable; sufficient; adequate; more than enough.

    “a goodly sum of money”

    “walking at a goodly pace”

adv

Etymology: From Middle English goodly, goodliche, gōdliche, from Old English gōdlīċe (“goodly”), from the adjective; equivalent to good + -ly. Cognate with Middle High German guotlīche, güetlīche.

  1. In a goodly way; courteously, graciously.

    “Thenne he sente for the thre knyghtes & they came afore hym / and he cryed hem mercy of that he had done to them / and they forgaf hit hym goodely and he dyed anone”

    “Goodly she entertaind those noble knights, / And brought them vp into her castle hall […]”

  2. Well; excellently.

    “For love of vertue and of martial praise; To which though nobly ye inclined are, (As goodlie well ye shew'd in late assaies)”

    “I know doin' marriage is tough and hard to pull off for a long time, but from what I has been led to believe, you two was doin' it quite goodly. As goodly as a huntin' shootin' fishin' filmin' drinkin' Englishy can do with a gyratin' pumpin' singin' lookin' wearinv Yankee-doodle icon. It was seemin' to be good together.”