daughterly

[daw-ter-lee]

adjective

1. pertaining to, befitting, or like a daughter.

Other Word Forms

• daughterliness noun
• undaughterly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of daughterly¹

First recorded in 1525–35; daughter + -ly

Example Sentences

I was a tomboy who prided herself on keeping up with the boys, no matter how my edges or bangs lifted in defiance of my mother's hard work and secret hope for daughterly good behavior.

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The campaign was confident that women might see her silence on the most controversial elements of her father’s campaign as daughterly deference to the tactics needed to win an election, rather than tacit approval.

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Kristen Stewart sets up shop on the line between daughterly exasperation and ferocious devotion.

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“She would shift a shoulder, settle her mouth, change behind the eyes. And some deep, daughterly part of me was tickled pink by it.”

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I also had to question why, even though I was a woman and a feminist, my idea of authority – in some lovely, daughterly way – tilted male.

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