PRETTILY

prettily

(adverb) in a pretty manner; “all this is most prettily done”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adverb

prettily (comparative more prettily, superlative most prettily)

In a pretty manner.

Very badly; terribly.

Source: Wiktionary


Pret"ti*ly, adv.

Definition: In a pretty manner.

PRETTY

Pret"ty, a. [Compar. Prettier; superl. Prettiest.] Etym: [OE. prati, AS. prættig, prætig, crafty, sly, akin to præt, prætt, deceit, trickery, Icel. prettugr tricky, prettr a trick; probably fr. Latin, perhaps through Celtic; cf. W. praith act, deed, practice, LL. practica execution, practice, plot. See Practice.]

1. Pleasing by delicacy or grace; attracting, but not striking or impressing; of a pleasing and attractive form a color; having slight or diminutive beauty; neat or elegant without elevation or grandeur; pleasingly, but not grandly, conceived or expressed; as, a pretty face; a pretty flower; a pretty poem. This is the prettiest lowborn lass that ever Ran on the greensward. Shak.

2. Moderately large; considerable; as, he had saved a pretty fortune. "Wavering a pretty while." Evelyn.

3. Affectedly nice; foppish; -- used in an ill sense. The pretty gentleman is the most complaisant in the world. Spectator.

4. Mean; despicable; contemptible; -- used ironically; as, a pretty trick; a pretty fellow.

5. Stout; strong and brave; intrepid; valiant. [Scot.] [He] observed they were pretty men, meaning not handsome. Sir W. Scott.

Syn.

– Elegant; neat; fine. See Handsome.

Pret"ty, adv.

Definition: In some degree; moderately; considerably; rather; almost; -- less emphatic than very; as, I am pretty sure of the fact; pretty cold weather. Pretty plainly professes himself a sincere Christian. Atterbury.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

1 February 2025

GRIP

(noun) an intellectual hold or understanding; “a good grip on French history”; “they kept a firm grip on the two top priorities”; “he was in the grip of a powerful emotion”; “a terrible power had her in its grasp”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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