Lovelily
adv ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 In a lovely way.; In a manner to excite or inspire admiration or love; admirably, beautifully, wonderfully.
"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."
- 2 In a lovely way.; In a friendly or pleasant manner; amiably, kindly, pleasantly. obsolete
"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."
Example
More examples"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."
Etymology
From Middle English lovelily, lovelyly (“in a friendly manner, graciously, kindly; beautifully; in a seemly manner, with decorum (?)”) [and other forms], from loveli, lovely (“affectionate, friendly, kind; admirable, excellent; amorous; beautiful, lovely; lovable; proper, seemly (?)”, adjective) (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). The English word is analysable as lovely + -ly (suffix forming adverbs).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.