selly

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English selly, selly, sellich, from Old English sellīċ, seldlīċ (“rare, strange, wondrous, extraordinary, wonderful; having unusually good qualities, excellent, admirable; select, better, superior, choice”), 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”).

Pronunciation
  • Rhymes: -ɛli

Adjective

selly (comparative sellier or more selly, superlative selliest or most selly)

  1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, MLE) Rare; wonderful; admirable
    • 2017 December 22, “No Hook”, performed by 61 – Cee Drilla x Beans x Nz x Ruger:
      And I am whipping off raw, that’s messy
      The nitties them call that selly

Adverb

selly (comparative sellier or more selly, superlative selliest or most selly)

  1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Wonderfully, wondrous.
    • Malory
      His brother was […] selly sick and sore unsound.

Noun

selly (plural sellies)

  1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A marvel; wonder; something wonderful or rare
    • 1995, Robert J. Blanch, Julian N. Wasserman, From Pearl to Gawain:
      The line is a masterstroke of noncommitment, for the event is a "selly" in the sight of some unidentified readers.

Anagrams

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English sellīċ, seldlīċ, syllīċ, from Proto-Germanic *seldalīkaz; equivalent to selde (“uncommon”) +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈsɛliː/, /ˈsɛliːtʃ(ə)/, /ˈsɛleː/

Adjective

selly

  1. weird, unusual, odd, bizarre
  2. strange, astounding, wondrous
  3. amazing, extraordinary, breathtaking
  4. many (in number); abundant.

Descendants

References

Adverb

selly

  1. weirdly, wondrously, oddly, surprisingly
  2. In a agile manner; speedily; with power and force.
  3. (By) a lot; extremely, to a great degree.

Descendants

References

Noun

selly (plural sellys)

  1. A wondrous or astounding happening or action.

Descendants

References
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.