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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

stalkily en · ADV

Pronunciation

  • /ˈstɔkɪli/ (General-American)
  • /ˈstɔːkɪli/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (UK) audio

Etymology

From stalky + -ly.

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) In a stalky manner. ▸ Like, or as if made up of, one or several stalks or sticks; with a tall and thin appearance; lankily.
    • The conductor emerged from the wings, tall and lean in his tailcoat, and moved stalkily across the platform; applause began in the front rows and worked its way back gradually to the far reaches of the hall, where people were talking in a sudden frenzy, as if they had a great deal to get said before silence was enjoined upon them. 1945, Dan Wickenden, The Wayfarers, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, →OCLC, page 46:
    • Oh, can it be their weariness that makes them lounge so stalkily, / And wear their flesh so flaccidly, and granulate, and chalkily? 1879 May 14, “Grappling the Grosvenor”, in Fun, volume XXIX, number 731, London: Published (for the proprietors) by T. Moffitt, […], →OCLC, page 203, column 2:
    • Little stands of trees stand in stooks, stalkily bundled and clumped by giants. 1996, Lawrence Norfolk, The Pope’s Rhinoceros, London: Sinclair-Stevenson, →ISBN; republished London: Vintage, 1998, →ISBN, page 414:
  2. (not-comparable) In a stalky manner. ▸ As if covertly following or hunting a person; sneakily, surreptitiously.
    • 'Now we must be careful,' announced Anton in his stalkily precise Italian. 2003 August 7, Michael Dibdin, chapter IV, in Medusa (An Aurelio Zen Mystery), London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, February 2005, →ISBN, page 39:
    • There's no sense in not doin' a thing stalkily while you're about it. 1898 December, Rudyard Kipling, “Stalky”, in The Windsor Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women, volume IX, London: Ward, Lock & Co., Limited […], →OCLC, page 30, column 2:
    • But the journey went on. Slower as the river became more intimate; reeds at the edge almost within touching distance. Waterfowl. A heron stalkily still. Dank lank growth and then the smells of intensive farming. 1992, Mairi Hedderwick, Highland Journey: A Sketching Tour of Scotland: Retracing the Steps of Victorian Artist John T. Reid, Edinburgh: Canongate Press, →ISBN, page 13:

Relateds

stalky · stalk · stalking · stalker · stalkiness