kindly
kindly is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 4 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.
Definitions
- 1.Humane; congenial; sympathetic; hence, disposed to do good to; benevolent; gracious; kind; helpful; as, kindly affections, words, acts, etc. The shade by which my life was crossed, . . . Has made me kindly with my kind. Tennyson.
- 2.Favorable; mild; gentle; auspicious; beneficent. In soft silence shed the kindly shower. Pope. Should e'er a kindlier time ensue. Wordsworth. Note: "Nothing ethical was connoted in kindly once: it was simply the adjective of kind. But it is God's ordinance that kind should be kindly, in our modern sense of the word as well; and thus the word has attained this meaning." Trench.
- 3.Naturally; fitly. [Obs.] Chaucer. Examine how kindly the Hebrew manners of speech mix and incorporate with the English language Addison.
- 4.In a kind manner; congenially; with good will; with a disposition to make others happy, or to oblige. Be kindly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love. Rom. xii. 10.
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Related questions
Reverse-dictionary questions
Definition-first questions whose answer is kindly.
- What is naturally; fitly. [Obs.] Chaucer. Examine how kindly the Hebrew manners of speech mix and incorporate with the English language Addison called?
- What is in a kind manner; congenially; with good will; with a disposition to make others happy, or to oblige. Be kindly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love. Rom. xii. 10 called?
Sources
- Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/kindly
- Steward: Jason Burns