gingerly
Americanadverb
adjective
adverb
adjective
Other Word Forms
- gingerliness noun
Etymology
Origin of gingerly
First recorded in 1510–20; ginger-, perhaps from Middle French gensor, genzor “delicate, pretty” (positive use of comparative of gent “high-born, noble,” also “beautiful, shapely,” from Latin genitus “begotten”; genital ) + -ly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I fumbled with the lock and drew the door gingerly back.
From Literature
We clung to one another, hardly able to keep our balance, as we made our way gingerly across the ice towards them.
From Literature
She has amassed a photo card collection of the movie's characters, which she has gingerly filed in an album.
From BBC
Stepping gingerly across the metal floor, it holds its four-fingered hands at chest level until it reaches its objective: a 25-pound basket of bearing components fresh from a stamping press.
He was taken to the locker room for evaluation, but the gingerly way he was moving left little doubt his night was done.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
