homely

• hamely (Scotland)

From Middle English homly, hoomly, hamely (“domestic, familiar, plain”), from Old English *hāmlīc (“of the home, domestic”), from Proto-Germanic *haimalīkaz (“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”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhəʊmli/
• (US) enPR: hōmʹlē, IPA^(key): /ˈhoʊmli/
• Rhymes: -əʊmli
• Hyphenation: home‧ly

homely (comparative homelier or more homely, superlative homeliest or most homely)

1. (Canada, US) Lacking in beauty or elegance, plain in appearance, physically unattractive.

   • Robert South

     There is none so homely but loves a looking-glass.

   • 1958, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 15, in Lolita:

     You see, she sees herself as a starlet; I see her as a sturdy, healthy but decidedly homely kid.

   Antonym: comely

2. (archaic) Characteristic of or belonging to home; domestic. [from early 14th c.]
   • 5 January 2014 "Mowgli's Cub" (Jungle Book episode)

     Mowgli: "Oh, don't worry Chota, it may not be homely, but I can warm it up."

3. (Britain dialectal) On intimate or friendly terms with (someone); familiar; at home (with a person); intimate.
   • 1563, John Foxe, Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Chapter on William Thorpe

     With all these men I was right homely, and communed with them long and oft.

4. (Britain dialectal, of animals) Domestic; tame.
5. (Britain dialectal) Personal; private.
6. (Britain dialectal) Friendly; kind; gracious; cordial.
7. (India) Conservative and family-oriented.

   I am seeking a beautiful homely girl for marriage.

8. (archaic) Simple; plain; familiar; unelaborate; unadorned. [from late 14th c.]

   a homely garment

   homely fare

   homely manners

   • 1731, Alexander Pope, Strephon and Chloe, Lines 211-212

     Now Strephon daily entertains / His Chloe in the homeliest strains.

   • 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press →ISBN, page 167,

     There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be.

• homely as a hedge fence

homely

1. Alternative form of homly

homely

1. Alternative form of homly