goodly
Americanadjective
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of good or substantial size, amount, etc..
a goodly sum.
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of good or fine appearance.
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Archaic. of a good quality.
a goodly gift.
adjective
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considerable
a goodly amount of money
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obsolete attractive, pleasing, or fine
a goodly man
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of goodly
before 1000; Middle English; Old English gōdlīc. See good, -ly
Explanation
A goodly amount of something is plenty of it. If you bake a goodly number of brownies for a bake sale, there are more than enough. The adjective goodly can describe a large quantity and also a large size: "You described your house as tiny, but it's actually a goodly size!" You might bring home a goodly amount of spinach from the farmer's market, or take a new job that comes with a goodly increase in salary. Goodly comes from an Old English root word, godlic, "excellent, good, or fair."
Vocabulary lists containing goodly
The Tempest
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Brian's Winter
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"Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
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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.
If you don’t pay at least a goodly chunk of your 2023 taxes by then, you will be penalized automatically, even if you file for an extension by Monday night.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2024
"The last time we had goodly numbers... was round about 2017, so it's great to see them now."
From BBC • Jan. 11, 2024
He was optimistic that the sprinklers would save “a goodly number of them” from extreme heat, he said.
From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2023
I also disappeared for a goodly while into Stephen Amidon’s taut domestic thriller “Locust Lane,” which is just coming out this month.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 10, 2023
“That is variable but a goodly number are in the ten- thousand- to twenty-thousand-dollar class.”
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
