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Webster 1913 Edition

Homely

Home′ly

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Homelier
;
sup
erl.
Homeliest
.]
[From
Home
,
Noun.
]
1.
Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate.
[Archaic]
With all these men I was right
homely
, and communed with, them long and oft.
Foxe.
Their
homely
joys, and destiny obscure.
Gray.
2.
Plain; unpretending; rude in appearance; unpolished;
as, a
homely
garment; a
homely
house;
homely
fare;
homely
manners.
Now Strephon daily entertains
His Chloe in the
homeliest
strains.
Pope.
3.
Of plain or coarse features; uncomely; ugly; – usually used of people, especially women; – contrary to
handsome
.
None so
homely
but loves a looking-glass.
South.

Home′ly

,
adv.
Plainly; rudely; coarsely;
as,
homely
dressed
.
[R.]
Spenser.

Webster 1828 Edition

Homely

HO'MELY

,
Adj.
[from home.] Of plain features; not handsome; as a homely face. It expresses less than ugly.
Let time, which makes you homely, make you wise.
1.
Plain, like that which is made for common domestic use; rude; coarse; not fine or elegant; as a homely garment; a homely house; homely are.
Now Strephon daily entertains
His Chloe in the homeliest strains.

HO'MELY

,
adv.
Plainly; rudely; coarsely; as homely dressed. [Little used.]

Definition 2025

homely

homely

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

homely ‎(comparative homelier or more homely, superlative homeliest or most homely)

  1. (dated) Lacking in beauty or elegance, plain in appearance, physically unattractive.
    • Robert South
      There is none so homely but loves a looking-glass.
    • 1958, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita, Chapter 15
      You see, she sees herself as a starlet; I see her as a sturdy, healthy but decidedly homely kid.
  2. (archaic) Characteristic of or belonging to home; domestic. [from early 14th c.]
    • 5 January 2014 "Mowgli's Cub" (Jungle Book episode)
      Mowgli: "Oh, don't worry Chota, it may not be homely, but I can warm it up."
  3. (Britain dialectal) On intimate or friendly terms with (someone); familiar; at home (with a person); intimate.
  4. (Britain dialectal, of animals) Domestic; tame.
  5. (Britain dialectal) Personal; private.
  6. (Britain dialectal) Friendly; kind; gracious; cordial.
  7. (archaic) Simple; plain; familiar; unelaborate; unadorned. [from late 14th c.]
    a homely garment; homely fare; homely manners‎
    • 1731, Alexander Pope, Strephon and Chloe, Lines 211-212
      Now Strephon daily entertains / His Chloe in the homeliest strains.
    • 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-78512-X), page 167,
      There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be.

Antonyms

Translations

Etymology

From Middle English homly, hoomly, hamely ‎(“domestic, familiar, plain”), from Old English *hāmlīc ‎(“of the home, domestic”), from Proto-Germanic *haimalīkaz ‎(“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”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhəʊm.li/
  • (US) enPR: hōmʹlē, IPA(key): /ˈhoʊm.li/
  • Hyphenation: home‧ly

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