gracelessly

English

Etymology

From Middle English gracelessly; equivalent to graceless +‎ -ly.

Adverb

gracelessly (comparative more gracelessly, superlative most gracelessly)

1. In a graceless manner
   • 1595, Philip Sidney, An Apologie for Poetrie‎^[1]:

     The French, in his whole language, hath not one word that hath his accent in the last syllable, saving two, called antepenultima; and little more, hath the Spanish, and therefore very gracelessly may they use dactiles.

   • 1965, Wole Soyinka, The Interpreters, New York: Africana Publishing, published 1972, Part One, Chapter 8, p. 116:

     Barabbas jumped down the eroded slope towards the water and slipped the last few feet gracelessly on his arse.

   • 1968, William Trevor, “The General's Day”, in Collected Stories, Penguin, published 1992, page 30:

     As he finished he heard the footsteps of the woman who daily came to work for him. They were slow, dragging footsteps implying the bulk they gracelessly shifted.

Middle English

Etymology

From graceles +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡraːs(ə)lɛːsliː/, /ˈɡraːs(ə)lɛsliː/

Adverb

gracelessly

1. (Late Middle English, rare) Lacking God's beneficence.

Descendants

• English: gracelessly

References

• “grācelēslī, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-14.