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loathly1

[lohth-lee, lohth -]
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adverb
  1. reluctantly; unwillingly.
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Origin of loathly1

before 1000; Middle English lothliche, Old English lāthlīce. See loath, -ly (adv. suffix)

loathly2

[lohth -lee, lohth-]
adjective Archaic.
  1. loathsome; hideous; repulsive.
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Origin of loathly2

before 900; Middle English lothlic(e), Old English lāthlīc. See loath, -ly (adj. suffix)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for loathly

Historical Examples

  • No living thing would that loathly one leave as aloft it flew.

    Beowulf

    Anonymous

  • She was unconscious of the loathly business the Colonel was transacting.

    Captain Blood

    Rafael Sabatini

  • And perhaps not one a day deserved death so much as that loathly fellow.

    Five Tales

    John Galsworthy

  • He came to see us when we had scarlatina, and gave us some loathly medicine!

  • Theirs is now the only voice of Summer, as though they were loathly in the mouth of Summer's carcase.

    Old Junk

    H. M. Tomlinson

British Dictionary definitions for loathly

loathly1

adverb
  1. with reluctance; unwillingly
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loathly2

adjective
  1. an archaic word for loathsome
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for loathly

adj.

Old English laðlic "hateful, horrible, unpleasant;" see loath + -ly (2). As an adverb, Old English laðlice.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper