selly
/ˈsɛli/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.06 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "His brother was […] selly sick and sore unsound."
- "The line is a masterstroke of noncommitment, for the event is a "selly" in the sight of some unidentified readers."
Etymology
From Middle English selly, selly, sellich, from Old English sellīċ, seldlīċ (“rare, strange, wondrous”), from Proto-West Germanic *seldalīk, 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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
- British usage
Inflected Forms
sellier (comparative)
more selly (comparative)
selliest (superlative)
most selly (superlative)
silly (alternative)
sillie (alternative)
sellies (plural)