gradely

gradely

English

Etymology

From Middle English greiþli, from Old Norse greiðliga.[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹeɪdlɪ/

Adjective

gradely (comparative gradelier, superlative gradeliest)

1. (Northern England) of a person; decent, well-meaning, respectable
   • Gracie Fields: "My work has meant travelling the world over, to great places and small, but home to me always means Rochdale and its gradely folk."
2. excellent
   • 1881, Elizabeth Sophia Watson, Crabtree Fold: A Tale of the Lancashire Moors, page 53:

     Yo're well off to ha' Betsy Ogden comin' in; she's a gradely worker.

3. handsome, fair
   • 1863, Charles Kingsley, The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby, page 13:

     This is a hard road for a gradely foot like that. Will ye up, lass, and ride behind me?

4. real, proper

Adverb

gradely (comparative more gradely, superlative most gradely)

1. properly, really

References

1. “gradely”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.