manly
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word manly. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word manly, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say manly in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word manly you have here. The definition of the word manly will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofmanly, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Manly
English
Etymology
From Middle English manly, manli, manlich, from Old English *manlīċ (suggested by adverb manlīċe (“in a way befitting a person; nobly, stately”)), from Proto-Germanic *mannlīkaz, equivalent to man + -ly.
Cognate with Old High German manlīh (“manly”) (German männlich), Dutch mannelijk, Old Norse mannligr (“human”) (Danish mandlig, Swedish manlig).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmænli/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Adjective
manly (comparative manlier, superlative manliest)
- Having the characteristics of a man.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part , 2nd edition, part 1, London: Richard Iones, , published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene vi:
- what God or Feend, or ſpirit of the earth,
Or Monſter turned to a manly ſhape,
Or of what mould or mettel he be made,
What ſtar or ſtate ſoeuer gouern him,
Let vs put on our meet incountering mindes, […]
- Having qualities viewed as befitting a man; manful; courageous, resolute, noble.
- c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :
- Let's briefly put on manly readiness.
- 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “ The Fifteenth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. , London: Jacob Tonson , →OCLC:
- Serene and manly, harden'd to sustain / The load of life.
- 2001, Thomas W. Smith, Revaluing Ethics: Aristotle's Dialectical Pedagogy, page 86:
- Without a successful defense of one's city, none of the other virtues would be possible; manly courage seems to be a precondition for anything else worth achieving in life.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
having the characteristics of a man
|
having the qualities of a man such as courage
|
Anagrams
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English *manlīċ, from Proto-West Germanic *mannlīk, from Proto-Germanic *mannlīkaz; equivalent to man + -ly (adjectival suffix).
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Adjective
manly
- Human; pertaining to humankind.
- Male, masculine; pertaining to men.
- Having qualities befitting a man; courageous, resolute, noble.
Descendants
References
- “manlī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
From Old English manlīċe; equivalent to mon + -ly (adverbial suffix).
Alternative forms
- manleche, manli, manlich, manliche, manlie, manlik, manlike, manneleche, mannely, monlik, monly
- (Early Middle English) monliche
Pronunciation
Adverb
manly
- In a human or civilised way.
- In a way befitting a man; courageously, resolutely, nobly.
- (rare) In a male or masculine way.
References
- “manlī, adv.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.