homely
Characteristic of, belonging to, or befitting a homeCharacteristic of, belonging to, or befitting a home; domestic, cosy.
Recorded UK: Speaker: Vealhurl Recorder: Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Tom is a very homely person.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
8 sensesCharacteristic of, belonging to, or befitting a home; domestic, cosy.
heimatlich
(Canada, US)Lacking in beauty or elegance, plain in appearance, physically unattractive.
невзрачныйnevzračnyj
lacking in physical beauty or proportion
(UK, dialectal)On intimate or friendly terms with (someone); familiar; at home (with a person); intimate.
(UK, dialectal)Domestic; tame.
(UK, dialectal)Personal; private.
(UK, dialectal)Friendly; kind; gracious; cordial.
(India)Conservative and family-oriented.
I am seeking a beautiful homely girl for marriage.
Simple; plain; familiar; unelaborate; unadorned.
a homely garment
homely fare
plain and unpretentious
Examples
9 sentencesTom is a very homely person.
Mary is a homely girl.
Мері — звичайна на вигляд дівчина. — deniko
ruМэри — некрасивая девочка. — Wezel
deMary ist ein häusliches Mädchen. — GuidoW
The girl was not downright homely.
That hotel has a homely atmosphere.
deDas Hotel hat eine behagliche Atmosphäre. — freddy1
The hotel has a homely atmosphere.
deDas Hotel hat eine behagliche Atmosphäre. — freddy1
Translations
4 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English homly, hoomly, hamely (“domestic, familiar, plain, unattractive”), froFrom Middle English homly, hoomly, hamely (“domestic, familiar, plain, unattractive”), from Old English *hāmlīċ (“of the home, domestic”), from Proto-West Germanic *haimalīk (“of or characteristic of home”), equivalent to home + -ly. Cognate with Scots hamely (“familiar, personal, private”), West Frisian heimelik, Dutch heimelijk (“secret, secretive, clandestine”), German heimlich (“secret, secretive, clandestine, undercover”), Danish hemmelig (“secret”), Swedish hemlig (“secret, concealed, privy, covert”), Faroese heimligur (“homelike, homey”), Icelandic heimlegur (“homely; worldly”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
homelier/more homely, homeliest/most homely| Comparative | homelier / more homely Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | homeliest / most homely Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
4 synonymsAntonyms
1 antonymsWord family
5 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.