comely

comely
\ \ [13] Old English had an adjective cymlic ‘beautiful’ (no relation at all to come), but this seems to have died out around the year 1000, and it is likely that comely, which first appears in the early 13th century, represents a reduced version of becomely, an adjective long since defunct of which there are a few records towards the end of the 12th century. This meant ‘suitable, becoming’ (it was formed, of course, from the verb become), an early meaning of comely; its other semantic strand, ‘beautiful’, is probably a memory of Old English cymlic.
\ \ Cf.⇒ BECOME

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Comely — Sire Disguise Grandsire Domino Dam Pretty Maiden Damsire Kingston Sex Filly …   Wikipedia

  • Comely — Come ly (k[u^]m l[y^]), a. [Compar. {Comelier}; superl. {Comeliest}.] [OE. comeliche, AS. cyml[=i]c; cyme suitable (fr. cuman to come, become) + l[=i]c like.] 1. Pleasing or agreeable to the sight; well proportioned; good looking; handsome. [1913 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Comely — Come ly, adv. In a becoming manner. Ascham. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • comely — index attractive Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • comely — beautiful, handsome, c.1400, probably from O.E. cymlic lovely, splendid, finely made, from cyme exquisite, glorious, delicate, from W.Gmc. *kumi delicate, feeble (Cf. O.H.G. chumo with difficulty, chumig weak, delicate; Ger. kaum hardly, scarcely …   Etymology dictionary

  • comely — adj fair, pretty, bonny, handsome, lovely, *beautiful, good looking, beauteous, pulchritudinous Antonyms: homely …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • comely — [adj] beautiful a ten*, attractive, beauteous, becoming, blooming, buxom, fair, fine, good looking, gorgeous, graceful, handsome, nice, pleasing, pretty, pulchritudinous, stunning, wholesome, winsome; concept 579 Ant. bad looking, despicable,… …   New thesaurus

  • comely — ► ADJECTIVE (comelier, comeliest) archaic or humorous ▪ pleasant to look at; attractive. DERIVATIVES comeliness noun. ORIGIN probably shortened from becomely «fitting, becoming» …   English terms dictionary

  • comely — [kum′lē] adj. comelier, comeliest [ME comli < OE cymlic < cyme, lovely, delicate, orig., feeble; akin to MHG kume, weak (Ger kaum, scarcely) < IE base * gou , to cry out > Gr goaein, to groan, bewail] 1. pleasant to look at;… …   English World dictionary

  • comely — UK [ˈkʌmlɪ] / US adjective Word forms comely : adjective comely comparative comelier superlative comeliest old fashioned a comely woman or girl is attractive …   English dictionary

  • comely — comelily, adv. comeliness, n. /kum lee/, adj., comelier, comeliest. 1. pleasing in appearance; attractive; fair: a comely face. 2. proper; seemly; becoming: comely behavior. [bef. 1000; ME cumli, OE cymlic lovely, equiv. to cyme exquisite (c. MHG …   Universalium

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