seely
Americanadjective
-
insignificant or feeble; poor.
-
happy; auspicious.
-
good; pious; blessed.
-
foolish; simple-minded.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seely
before 1000; Middle English sely, Old English gesǣlig happy, equivalent to sǣl happiness + -ig -y 1; cognate with Dutch zalig, German selig; akin to Old Norse sæll, Gothic sēls good, Old English sēl better; see silly
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.
But as it fell out on last Hallow-even, When the seely court was ridin’ by, The queen lighted down on a gowany bank, Nae far frae the tree where I wont to lye.
From Ballads of Mystery and Miracle and Fyttes of Mirth Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - Second Series by Frank Sidgwick
But as it fell out on last Hallow-e’en,When the seely court was ridin’ by,The queen lighted down on a gowan bank,Near by the tree where I wont to lye.
From A Collection of Ballads by Andrew Lang
His coat was the Ruthven white and red, Sae sound asleep was he The Queen she cried on May Beatrix, That seely lad to see.
From New Collected Rhymes by Andrew Lang
And equally familiar is the following:— "While the grass groweth the seely horse starveth."
From The Folk-lore of Plants by T. F. Thiselton (Thomas Firminger Thiselton) Dyer
Mary’s grace a seely boatOn Christchurch bar did lie afloat;He gave the shipmen mark and groat,To ferry him over to Normandie,And there he fell to sanctuarie;God send his soul all bliss to see.
From Andromeda and Other Poems by Charles Kingsley
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.
