Micawberly
English
WOTD – 7 May 2021
Etymology
From Micawber + -ly (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, having the sense of ‘behaving like, or having a nature typical of [what is denoted by the noun]’) (see origin of name there), from the character Wilkins Micawber – noted for his naive optimism, always confident that “something will turn up”[1] – in David Copperfield (1849–1850) by the English author Charles Dickens (1812–1870).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /mɪˈkɔːbəli/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /mɪˈkɔbɚli/, /məˈkɑ-/
- Hyphenation: Mi‧caw‧ber‧ly
Adverb
Micawberly (comparative more Micawberly, superlative most Micawberly)
- in an an upbeat and optimistic way, in the face of seemingly hopeless circumstances
- 1872, Adeline Dutton Train Whitney, Sights and Insights: Patience Strong's Story of Over the Way, volume 1, J.R. Osgood & Company, page 151:
- […] not growing a single spiritual inch, for putting forth his powers as a man should; just amiably Micawbering along, and most Micawberly devoted to somebody he would like well enough to marry when the times comes and things "turn up;" […]
- January 31 1875, “Archived copy”, in Galveston Daily News, archived from the original on 5 March 2016, retrieved 27 May 2020, page 1, column 2 (bottom):
- The marriage of Grand Duke Alexis in his proper station in life is indefinitely postponed, and Count Shouvalod and his imperial master must wait, Micawberly, for something to turn up.
- 1995, William A. Senior, Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Variations on the Fantasy Tradition, Kent State University Press, page 176:
- Covenant doggedly searches for a way out of his predicament and vows to keep moving in the hopes that, macabrely (as opposed to Micawberly) put, something will turn up.
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Related terms
- Micawber
- Micawber effect
- Micawberesque
- Micawber frontier
- Micawberian
- Micawberish
- Micawberism
- Micawber-like
- Micawber principle
- Micawber threshold
Translations
synonym of Micawberesque — see Micawberesque
References
- See, for example, Charles Dickens (May 1849 – November 1850), “I Assist at an Explosion”, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, OCLC 558196156, page 540: “‘I could not receive it as a gift,’ said Mr. Micawber, full of fire and animation, ‘but if a sufficient sum could be advanced, […] to allow time for something to turn up——’”
Further reading
Wilkins Micawber on Wikipedia.Wikipedia