comely
/ˈkʌmli/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.36 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "a comely woman"
- "Not once perceive their foul disfigurement, / But boaſt themſelves more comely than before"
- "This is properly Venus, Beauty, vvhich kindles the fire of Love in Mankinde: […] VVe ſee many perſons exact, and unaccuſtomable in every part, deſtitute of this grace and comlineſſe; others leſſe perfect in thoſe particular conditions, excellently graceful and comely; […]"
- "He that is comely, when old and decrepit, ſurely was very beautiful, when he was young."
- "[T]he Bishop of London [Humphrey Henchman], who sat there in a pew, made a purpose for him by the pulpitt, do give the last blessing to the congregation; which was, he being a comely old man, a very decent thing, methought. The Lieutenant of the Tower, Sir J[ohn] Robinson, would needs have me by coach home with him, and sending word home to my house I did go and dine with him, his ordinary table being very good, and his lady [Anne Whitmore] a very high-carriaged but comely big woman; I was mightily pleased with her."
- "Then had I come, preventing Sheba's Queen, / To ſee the comelieſt of the Sons of Men; […]"
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Middle English comly, comli, cumly, cumlich (“of a person: beautiful, handsome, etc.; of noble birth, bearing, or character; of behaviour: appropriate, becoming; of an event: convenient; favourable; of a thing: beautiful, wonderful; fitting, proper”), from Old English cymlīċ, cȳmlīċ (“beautiful, comely; splendid; convenient”), from cȳme (“beautiful, comely; splendid; exquisite, fine”) + -līċ (suffix meaning ‘like; relating to’ forming adjectives). Cȳme is derived from Proto-Germanic *kūmiz (“delicate; feeble”), from *kūmalīkaz (“dear; pitiful”), probably related to *kūmaz, *kūmijaz (“pitiful; frail, weak”), from Proto-Indo-European *gewH- (“to call, name; to call on, invoke; to cry, cry out”). The word was influenced by come (verb). The verb is derived from the adjective. Cognates Middle Dutch komelick, komlick Middle High German gomelīh, komelīh
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkʌmli/
- British English: /ˈkʌmli/
Usage
Inflected Forms
comelier (comparative)
more comely (comparative)
comeliest (superlative)
most comely (superlative)
comly (alternative)
cumlie (alternative)
comelies (present, singular)
comelying (participle, present)
comelied (participle, past)
comelied (past)