semly
Middle English
Alternative forms
- cemely, seemelich, seemly, sembli, sembly, semblych, semele, semelich, semeliche, semely, semle, semli, semlich, semliche, semlik, semlye, semmeli, semyly, symly
Etymology
Either borrowed from or a calque of Old Norse sœmiligr (“seemly”); equivalent to semen (“to seem”) + -ly (adjectival suffix).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsɛːm(i)liː/, /ˈsɛm(b)liː/, /-litʃ/, /-lik/
Adjective
semly
- Attractive, beautiful; aesthetically appealing.
- Right, appropriate, suited; good for a purpose.
- Seemly, becoming; following acceptable behaviour.
- Synonym: curteis
- Noble, valorous, good; having good morals.
- Likely; having a good chance of happening.
- (rare) Ostensible, surface-level.
Derived terms
- semlyhede
- semlynesse
Descendants
- English: seemly
- Scots: seemly
Adverb
semly
- Attractively, beautifully; in a aesthetically appealing way.
- Adeptly, suitably, right; in the right or best way.
- Gracefully, becomingly; in a nice or courteous way.
- Synonym: curteisly
- Nobly, reverently, respectfully; in a noble way.
Descendants
- English: seemly
References
- “sẹ̄melī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- “sẹ̄melī, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.