goodly
goodly Lexical Profile
goodly Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Considerable in size, amount, or quantity.
"A goodly number of local residents attended the town hall meeting to voice their support for the new park."
Attractive, pleasant, or admirable in appearance or quality (archaic or literary).
"From the top of the ridge, the travelers looked down upon a goodly valley of orchards and meadows."
• adverb
In a courteous, gracious, or admirable manner (archaic).
"The host welcomed the weary travelers and treated them goodly throughout their stay."
Word Nuance & Usage
Despite ending in '-ly', 'goodly' functions almost exclusively as an adjective in modern English (most commonly in phrases like 'a goodly number' or 'a goodly sum'), whereas 'well' serves as the standard adverbial counterpart to 'good'.
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'godli', derived from Old English 'gōdlīc' ('goodly, magnificent, excellent'), formed from 'gōd' ('good') and the adjective-forming suffix '-līc' ('-ly').