selly

English

Alternative forms

• silly, sillie (Scotland)

Etymology

From Middle English selly, selly, sellich, from Old English sellīċ, seldlīċ (“rare, strange, wondrous, extraordinary, wonderful; having unusually good qualities, excellent, admirable; select, better, superior, choice”), from Proto-Germanic *seldalīkaz, equivalent to seld +‎ -ly. Cognate with Scots selly, silly (“approved, good, worthy”), Old Saxon seldlīk (“rare, wonderful”), Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (sildaleiks, “wonderful”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛli/
• Homophone: celly
• Rhymes: -ɛli

Adjective

selly (comparative sellier or more selly, superlative selliest or most selly)

1. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Rare; wonderful; admirable

Synonyms

• (rare): infrequent, scarce, uncommon; see also Thesaurus:rare
• (wonderful): enchanting, impressive, unbelievable; see also Thesaurus:wonderful

Adverb

selly (comparative sellier or more selly, superlative selliest or most selly)

1. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Wonderfully, wondrously.
   • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:

     His brother was […] selly sick and sore unsound.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Noun

selly (plural sellies)

1. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A marvel; wonder; something wonderful or rare
   • 1995, Robert J. Blanch, Julian N. Wasserman, From Pearl to Gawain:

     The line is a masterstroke of noncommitment, for the event is a "selly" in the sight of some unidentified readers.

Anagrams

• Lyles, yells

Middle English

Alternative forms

• selli, sellich, selliche, sillich, sullich, seollich, sælliche, sellic, solly, sællic, selle, celly

Etymology

From Old English sellīċ, seldlīċ, syllīċ, from Proto-Germanic *seldalīkaz; equivalent to selde (“uncommon”) +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛliː/, /ˈsɛliːtʃ(ə)/, /ˈsɛleː/

Adjective

selly

1. weird, unusual, odd, bizarre
2. strange, astounding, wondrous
3. amazing, extraordinary, breathtaking
4. many (in number); abundant.

Descendants

• English: selly
• Scots: selly

References

• “sellī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-04.

Adverb

selly

1. weirdly, wondrously, oddly, surprisingly
2. In a agile manner; speedily; with power and force.
3. (By) a lot; extremely, to a great degree.

Descendants

• English: selly
• Scots: selly

References

• “sellī, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-04.

Noun

selly (plural sellys)

1. A wondrous or astounding happening or action.

Descendants

• English: selly
• Scots: selly

References

• “sellī, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-04.