gingerly
Americanadverb
adjective
adverb
adjective
Other Word Forms
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”; see genital) + -ly
Explanation
If something needs to be done with great care and caution, you should do it gingerly — like gingerly holding a newborn baby or gingerly creeping down the creaky stairs when you're trying to sneak out. Before it came to mean “extremely cautiously” in 1600, gingerly meant “elegantly, daintily.” In fact, it stems from the Latin word gentius, meaning “(well)-born.” But today it has less to do with elegance and more to do with a delicate touch, usually used to avoid hurting something or someone. For example, you might want to gingerly hug your friend with the broken rib to avoid making her wince in pain.
Vocabulary lists containing gingerly
A Long Walk to Water
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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List 6
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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.
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 • Mar. 15, 2026
She has amassed a photo card collection of the movie's characters, which she has gingerly filed in an album.
From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026
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.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026
In the first five days, forensic experts gingerly removed earth, millimeter by millimeter, recovering 3,463 bone fragments.
From Barron's • Nov. 29, 2025
Dad swears Mom’s nose is as cute as ever and I don’t notice anything different about it, but she still touches it gingerly when he starts talking about some big new idea he’s got going.
From "Lawn Boy" by Gary Paulsen
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.
