lovelily

English

WOTD – 23 December 2023

Etymology

From Middle English lovelily, lovelyly (“in a friendly manner, graciously, kindly; beautifully; in a seemly manner, with decorum (?)”) [and other forms],^[1] from loveli, lovely (“affectionate, friendly, kind; admirable, excellent; amorous; beautiful, lovely; lovable; proper, seemly (?)”, adjective)^[2] (from Old English luflīċ (“amiable, dear, likable, pleasant, lovely; worthy of love, lovable”), from Proto-Germanic *leubalīkaz (“lovely”), from *leubaz (“beloved, dear”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to admire; to covet, desire, want; to love; to praise”)) + -li (suffix forming adverbs).^[3] The English word is analysable as lovely +‎ -ly (suffix forming adverbs).^[4]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌvlɪli/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌvləli/
Hyphenation: love‧li‧ly

Adverb

lovelily (comparative more lovelily, superlative most lovelily)

In a lovely way.
1. In a manner to excite or inspire admiration or love; admirably, beautifully, wonderfully.
  - 1723, Cotton Mather, “Cœlestinus. Heaven Convers’d Withal. The Sixth Essay.”, in Cœlestinus. A Conversation in Heaven, Quickened and Assisted, with Discoveries of Things in the Heavenly World. […], Boston, Mass.: […] S[amuel] Kneeland, for Nath[aniel] Belknap, […], →OCLC, pages 117–118:
    By continually doing the part of Sacrificers, and eſpecially by turning all the Good Things of Earth into Sacrifices, a Converſation in Heaven vvill be moſt Lovelily Exemplifyed.
  - 1764, C[harles] Churchill, “Book I”, in The Duellist. A Poem. […], London: […] G. Kearsly, […]; W[illiam] Flexney, […]; J. Coote, […]; C. Henderson, […]; J. Gardiner, […]; and J. Almon, […], →OCLC, page 23:
    Courage, a Youth of royal race, / Lovelily ſtern, poſſeſs'd a place / On her left-hand, and on her right, / Sat Honour, cloath'd vvith robes of Light; […]
  - 1813 December 2 (date written), Lord Byron, “Canto I. Stanza III.”, in The Bride of Abydos. A Turkish Tale, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], for John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 4, lines 57–59:
    So lovelily the morning shone, / That—let the old and weary sleep— / I could not; […]
  - 1889, Francis Thompson, “Ode to the Setting Sun”, in The Works of Francis Thompson, volume I (Poems), New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons […], published 1913, →OCLC, page 125:
    Whatso looks lovelily / Is but the rainbow on life's weeping rain. / Why have we longings of immortal pain, / And all we long for mortal?
2. (obsolete) In a friendly or pleasant manner; amiably, kindly, pleasantly.
  - 1671, Desiderius Erasmus, “The Wedding Song”, in H. M. [attributed to Henry More or Henry Munday], transl., The Colloquies, or Familiar Discourses of Desiderius Erasmus of Roterdam, […], London: […] E[van] T[yler] and R[alph] H[olt] for H[enry] Brome, B[enjamin] Tooke, and T[homas] Sawbridge, […], →OCLC, page 245:
    Moreover hovv lovelily do the Graces cling to one another! Hovv vvell does their garment become them, being not girt to them vvith any girdle, the skirts of it vvaving to and fro at liberty.

Related terms

Translations

in a manner to excite or inspire admiration or love — see admirably,‎ beautifully,‎ wonderfully

References

^ “lǒvelīlī, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
^ “lǒvelī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
^ “-lī, suf.(2)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007..
^ “lovelily, adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “lovelily, adv.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Middle English

Adverb

lovelily

Alternative form of lovelyly

[1] “lǒvelīlī, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

[2] “lǒvelī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

[3] “-lī, suf.(2)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007..

[4] “lovelily, adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “lovelily, adv.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

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