homely
/ˈhoʊmli/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.90 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Lacking in beauty or elegance, plain in appearance, physically unattractive.
Canadian usage; American usage
adj
On intimate or friendly terms with (someone); familiar; at home (with a person); intimate.
British usage
adj
Example Sentences
- "An interesting illustration of this is the way in which the English flower names which were in use till very recently are being ousted by Greek ones, snapdragon becoming antirrhinum, forget-me-not becoming myosotis, etc. It is hard to see any practical reason for this change of fashion: it is probably due to an instinctive turning-away from the more homely word and a vague feeling that the Greek word is scientific."
- "Other homely details in the stories — preparing a salad, diapering a baby"
- "Mowgli: "Oh, don't worry Chota, it may not be homely, but I can warm it up.""
- "There is none so homely but loves a looking-glass."
- ""I can't send a young, pretty girl, or for that matter even a homely one if you'd have her, on a job like this without telling her what to expect.""
- "You see, she sees herself as a starlet; I see her as a sturdy, healthy but decidedly homely kid."
Etymology
From Middle English homly, hoomly, hamely (“domestic, familiar, plain, unattractive”), from Old English *hāmlīċ (“of the home, domestic”), from Proto-West Germanic *haimalīk (“of or characteristic of home”), equivalent to home + -ly. Cognate with Scots hamely (“familiar, personal, private”), West Frisian heimelik, Dutch heimelijk (“secret, secretive, clandestine”), German heimlich (“secret, secretive, clandestine, undercover”), Danish hemmelig (“secret”), Swedish hemlig (“secret, concealed, privy, covert”), Faroese heimligur (“homelike, homey”), Icelandic heimlegur (“homely; worldly”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhoʊmli/
- British English: /ˈhəʊmli/
Usage
Inflected Forms
homelier (comparative)
more homely (comparative)
homeliest (superlative)
most homely (superlative)
hamely (alternative, Scotland)