gingerly
Americanadverb
adjective
adverb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
Gingerly exiting my car, I walked backward and then put my hands behind my back, following commands.
From Washington Post • May 13, 2022
Gingerly they pull the canvases from the wall and carefully manoeuvre them down the four ladders separating them from the ground.
From BBC • May 3, 2022
LIVERPOOL, England — Gingerly, Liverpool’s players clasped each other’s hands and turned toward the Kop, Anfield’s iconic, sweeping grandstand.
From New York Times • Jun. 26, 2020
Gingerly, from behind the skull, he removed a small metal ray gun.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 9, 2019
Gingerly she snatched the hare, turned, and fled back to camp.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
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.
