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definitions

loathly

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

Origin of loathly

1
before 1000; Middle English lothliche, Old English lāthlīce. See loath, -ly (adv. suffix)

loathly

2
[lohth -lee, lohth-]
adjective Archaic.
  1. loathsome; hideous; repulsive.

Origin of loathly

2
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 of loathly

  • 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

loathly

1
adverb
  1. with reluctance; unwillingly

loathly

2
adjective
  1. an archaic word for loathsome
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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper