Dictionary

goodlihead en · NOUN

Etymology

From Middle English goodlihede, goodelyhede, equivalent to goodly + -head.

Meanings

1. (obsolete, uncountable) The character or nature of a goodly person; goodliness.
   • But mote thy goodlyhed forgiue it mee, / To weet, which of the Gods I shall thee name, / That vnto thee due worship I may rightly frame. 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
2. (archaic, poetic, uncountable) Goodly appearance or looks; beauty.
   • Now, by the strength and fury of Hercules -- To whom in stature, might, and goodlihead Most like thou art I pray thee, have in mind Him, and resolve to match his deeds with thine. 1943, Quintus (Smyrnaeus), Arthur Sanders Way, The Fall of Troy
   • The lilies, of great goodlihead, divinely tall, sway with a stately, languid grace; the Canterbury bells are all ringing. 1893, Eliakim Littell, Robert S. Littell, The Living Age ...:
   • Let me but have my tea and sugar, my well-fed ass and my good wife at hand, and let my children wax in stature and goodlihead — then my cup is full, I crave nothing more. 1950, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The wisdom of the sands:

Forms