DECENTLY

properly, decently, decent, right

(adverb) in the right manner; correctly; suitably; “please do your job properly!”; “can’t you carry me decent?”

decently

(adverb) in a decent manner; “they don’t know how to dress decently”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adverb

decently (comparative more decently, superlative most decently)

In a decent manner.

To a reasonable or acceptable degree.

Source: Wiktionary


DECENT

De"cent, a. Etym: [L. decens, decentis, p. pr. of decere to be fitting or becoming; akin to decus glory, honor, ornament, Gr. d to grant, to give; and perh. akin to E. attire, tire: cf. F. décent. Cf. Decorate, Decorum, Deig.]

1. Suitable in words, behavior, dress, or ceremony; becoming; fit; decorous; proper; seemly; as, decent conduct; decent language. Shak. Before his decent steps. Milton.

2. Free from immodesty or obscenity; modest.

3. Comely; shapely; well-formed. [Archaic] A sable stole of cyprus lawn Over thy decent shoulders drawn. Milton. By foreign hands thy decent limbs composed. Pope.

4. Moderate, but competent; sufficient; hence, respectable; fairly good; reasonably comfortable or satisfying; as, a decent fortune; a decent person. A decent retreat in the mutability of human affairs. Burke.

– De"cent*ly, adv.

– De"cent*ness, n.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

26 November 2024

TRANSPOSITION

(noun) (music) playing in a different key from the key intended; moving the pitch of a piece of music upwards or downwards


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Coffee Trivia

The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.

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