hooly

American  

[hoo-lee, hy-lee] / ˈhu li, ˈhü li /

Or huly

adjective

1. cautious; gentle.

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adverb

1. cautiously; gently.

Etymology

Origin of hooly

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English holy, hulie, hully; apparently of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse hōfligr “moderate,” hōfliga “moderately”

Example Sentences

As an abstract critic, allow me to say, "Reinhardt's No. 15 leely en hooly pic o langly loo la lay."

From Time Magazine Archive

Perhaps he was the abbot whom Chaucer mocked in his Prioress's Tale for his false piety over a murder: This abbot, which that was an hooly man, As monkes been, or elles oghte be.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hooly and fairly, hooly and fairly; O gin my wife wad strike hooly and fairly!

From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume I. The Songs of Scotland of the past half century by Rogers, Charles

But the words seem somewhat out of joint: "Waikiki lantoni oe Kaa hooly hooly wawhoo."

From Roughing It, Part 7. by Twain, Mark

And here foloweth the noble tale of the Sancgreal that called is the hooly vessel.'

From The Book-Hunter at Home by Allan, P. B. M.