butcherly en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈbʊtʃəli/ (UK)
Etymology
Etymology tree English butch Proto-Indo-European *-yōs Proto-Germanic *-izô Proto-West Germanic *-iʀō Proto-Germanic *-ōzô Proto-West Germanic *-ōʀō Old English -ra Middle English -ere English -er English butcher Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-West Germanic *-līk Old English -līċ Middle English -ly English -ly English butcherly From butcher + -ly.
Meanings
-
Like a butcher; characterised by slaughter, savage.
Alexander comming to the Ocean of India, cast in favour of Thetis many great rich vessels of gold into the Sea, replenishing moreover her Altars with a butcherly slaughter, not onely of innocent beasts, but of men[…].
1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:She had not realised how butcherly the severed vessels would look, and she had not reckoned with the horrid halitus of blood, which steamed to her nostrils under the blazing sun.
1932, Dorothy L. Sayers, chapter 1, in Have His Carcase:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more butcherly | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most butcherly | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |