thiefly

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word thiefly. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word thiefly, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say thiefly in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word thiefly you have here. The definition of the word thiefly will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofthiefly, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

From Middle English thefly; equivalent to thief +‎ -ly.

Adjective

thiefly (comparative more thiefly, superlative most thiefly)

  1. (now rare) Like a thief; thievish.
    • 1893, “The Lay of a Lake Forest Burgler”, in Town Topics, the Journal of Society, volume 30, page 24:
      Most patiently, with noiseless tread, I then did Make thro' those sumptuous halls my thiefly way, Until at last I reached the chamber splendid Where Hobart Chatfield Chatfield slumb'ring lay.
    • 1949, Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, The Improvement Era - Volume 52, page 378:
      In bantering gusto he went right on with his thiefly enterprise.
    • 1995, Coleman Charlton, Pete Fenlon, S. Marvin, Rolemaster Standard Rules, →ISBN:
      Rogues are characters with some expertise in thiefly abilities and more specialized knowledge of arms than that possessed by Fighters.
    • 2002, Milton Finch, Virginia Ward, Hello Again, Already!: A Book for the Spiritually-Minded Christian:
      It would be a sad thing to enter this dark time and then to have an eternal reality stolen and lessened in a thiefly sort of way at the door of death through a life that was lived in a less than honorable fashion.
    • 2011, Ed Greenwood, Elminster: Making of a Mage, →ISBN:
      ...here he was, bent on one last thiefly act.

Adverb

thiefly (comparative more thiefly, superlative most thiefly)

  1. (obsolete) Like a thief; thievishly.
    • 2008, Derek G. Neal, The Masculine Self in Late Medieval England, page 43:
      Downyng described Sybbesoun as "a strong thief to Wood Mill, for truly he and his wife have procured my servant and my goods, that is to say wheat and rye by the bushel and the half, as thiefly and as un-truly as he might do."

References

Anagrams

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia