Dictionary

homely en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈhəʊmli/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio
• hōmʹlē (US)
• /ˈhoʊmli/ (US)

Etymology

From 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”).

Meanings

1. Characteristic of, belonging to, or befitting a home; domestic, cosy.
   • An interesting illustration of this is the way in which the English flower names which were in use till very recently are being ousted by Greek ones, snapdragon becoming antirrhinum, forget-me-not becoming myosotis, etc. It is hard to see any practical reason for this change of fashion: it is probably due to an instinctive turning-away from the more homely word and a vague feeling that the Greek word is scientific. 1946, George Orwell, Politics and the English Language:
   • Other homely details in the stories — preparing a salad, diapering a baby 1981 February 14, Collectively Written Feminist Stories, “Myma Greenfield”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 29, page 11:
   • Mowgli: "Oh, don't worry Chota, it may not be homely, but I can warm it up." 2014 January 5, “Mowgli's Cub”, in The Jungle Book:
2. (Canada, US) Lacking in beauty or elegance, plain in appearance, physically unattractive.
   • You see, she sees herself as a starlet; I see her as a sturdy, healthy but decidedly homely kid. 1958, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 15, in Lolita:
   • There is none so homely but loves a looking-glass. 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
   • "I can't send a young, pretty girl, or for that matter even a homely one if you'd have her, on a job like this without telling her what to expect." 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 6:
3. (UK, dialectal) On intimate or friendly terms with (someone); familiar; at home (with a person); intimate.
   • With all these men I was right homely, and communed with them long and oft. 1563, John Foxe, Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Chapter on William Thorpe:
4. (UK, dialectal, of animals) Domestic; tame.
5. (UK, dialectal) Personal; private.
6. (UK, dialectal) Friendly; kind; gracious; cordial.
7. (India) Conservative and family-oriented.
   • I am seeking a beautiful homely girl for marriage.
8. Simple; plain; familiar; unelaborate; unadorned.
   • There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be. 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 167:
   • a homely garment
   • Now Strephon daily entertains His Chloe in the homeliest strains. 1731, Alexander Pope, Strephon and Chloe, Lines 211-212:
   • homely manners
   • homely fare

Forms

Antonyms

comely

Deriveds

unhomely · overhomely · homelily · homeliness · homely as a hedge fence

Translations (21)

es mal arrostrado (plain, physically unattractive) · la invenustus (plain, physically unattractive) · cs ordinérní (plain, physically unattractive) · bg грозноват (plain, physically unattractive) · de heimatlich (characteristic of or belonging to home) · cs útulný (cozy) · de heimelig (cozy) · cs tuctový (plain, physically unattractive) · bg домашен (characteristic of or belonging to home) · cs vlídný (cordial, kind) · cs prostý (plain, physically unattractive) · es mal gestado (plain, physically unattractive) · cy cartrefol (characteristic of or belonging to home) · cs domácký (characteristic of or belonging to home) · sv hemtrevlig (characteristic of or belonging to home) · th บ้านๆ (plain, physically unattractive) · bg уютен (characteristic of or belonging to home) · ru невзрачный (plain, physically unattractive) · es hogareño (characteristic of or belonging to home) · id rumahan (characteristic of or belonging to home) · pl swojski (characteristic of or belonging to home)