wally

[wey-lee]

adjective Scot.

fine; splendid.

strong.

Origin of wally

First recorded in 1490–1500; wale² + -y¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wally

Contemporary Examples of wally

Wally said, “One day, Woody Allen will pass, and people will wonder if he really lived.”
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange
Marlow Stern
December 27, 2014
Wally Pipp and Everett Scott, who had played watershed roles in Lou's career were also on hand.
The Stacks: The Day Lou Gehrig Delivered Baseball’s Gettysburg Address
Ray Robinson
July 4, 2014
But Wally Triplett knew both and struck up a friendship with Robinson and Doby that historic year.
Playing Pinochle and Breaking Barriers With Jackie Robinson
Evan Weiner
March 30, 2014
In September 2000, Wally Edge invited then-governor Christie Todd Whitman to his “127th birthday celebration.”
Christie and Wildstein: An Online Bromance
Olivia Nuzzi
February 14, 2014
The name Wildstein assumed, Wally Edge, belonged to a former governor of New Jersey who died in 1956.
Christie and Wildstein: An Online Bromance
Olivia Nuzzi
February 14, 2014

Historical Examples of wally

Wally straightened up with a fresh chunk of cake in his hand.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
Wally and Jack hurried in from the kitchen and made for the doorway where he stood.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
Wally, coming again alongside, turned his head, and regarded him attentively.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
"I wish dad wasn't so—" began Wally moodily, and let it go at that.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
Wally and Jack were sliding their chairs back from the table preparing to follow him.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower

British Dictionary definitions for wally

wally

adjective Scot archaic

fine, pleasing, or splendid

robust or strong

Word Origin for wally

C16: of obscure origin

wally

adjective Central Scot dialect

made of chinaa wally dug; a wally vase

lined with ceramic tilesa wally close

Word Origin for wally

from obsolete dialect wallow faded, adjectival use of wallow to fade, from Old English wealwian

wally

noun plural -lies

slang a stupid person

Word Origin for wally

C20: shortened form of the given name Walter

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 wally

term of admiration, Scottish, early 16c., of unknown origin. As a masc. proper name, a diminutive of Walter, and this might be the source of the teen slang term "unfashionable person" (1969).