† meanlyadj.1
Obsolete.
1. Comradely. rare.
ΚΠ
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens Old Eng. Glosses of MS Brussels, Royal Libr. 1650 (1974) 298 Contubernali : mænlicere. Contubernali sodalitate : amicabili familiaritate, mid leofre ferrædene.
2. Common, general.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > general or in common to various things
meanlylOE
general?c1430
main1600
lOE Laws of Cnut (Corpus Cambr. 383) ii. x. 314 Burhbota & brycgbota..aginne man georne, & fyrdunga eac swa a ðonne ðearf sy for mænelicre neode.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2503 All wass mænelike þing Whatt littless se þeȝȝ haffdenn.
?a1325 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 282 Ich i-leve..in Ihesu Crist, oure meneliche loverd.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
† meanlyadj.2
Obsolete. rare.
Moderate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective]
light?c1225
moderatea1398
sober1398
weakc1400
meanly?a1425
treatablec1450
slenderc1475
remiss1550
quiet1560
unpassionatea1600
relaxative1611
?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. i. pr. vi. 113 By lyghte and meneliche remedies [L. mediocribus fomentis].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
meanlyadj.3
/ˈmiːnli/, U.S. /ˈminli/ rare.
Inferior, unpleasant, unkind: = mean adj.1
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective]
gnedec900
gripplea1000
fastOE
narrow-hearteda1200
narrow?c1225
straitc1290
chinchc1300
nithinga1325
scarcec1330
clama1340
hard1340
scantc1366
sparingc1386
niggardc1400
chinchy?1406
retentivea1450
niggardousa1492
niggish1519
unliberal1533
pinching1548
dry1552
nigh1555
niggardly1560
churlish1566
squeamish1566
niggardish1567
niggard-like1567
holding1569
spare1577
handfast1578
envious1580
close-handed1585
hard-handed1587
curmudgeonly1590
parsimonious?1591
costive1594
hidebound1598
penny-pinching1600
penurious1600
strait-handed1600
club-fisted1601
dry-fisted1604
fast-handed1605
fast-fingered1607
close-fisted1608
near1611
scanting1613
carkingc1620
illiberal1623
clutch-fisteda1634
hideboundeda1640
clutch-fista1643
clunch-fisted1644
unbounteous1645
hard-fisted1646
purse-bound1652
close1654
stingy1659
tenacious1676
scanty1692
sneaking1696
gripe-handed1698
narrow-souled1699
niggardling1704
snippy1727
unindulgent1742
shabby1766
neargoinga1774
cheesemongering1781
split-farthing1787
save-all1788
picked1790
iron-fisted1794
unhandsome1800
scaly1803
nearbegoing1805
tight1805
nippit1808
nipcheese1819
cumin-splitting1822
partan-handed1823
scrimping1823
scrumptious1823
scrimpy1825
meanly1827
skinny1833
pinchfisted1837
mean1840
tight-fisted1843
screwy1844
stinty1849
cheeseparing1857
skinflinty1886
mouly1904
mingy1911
cheapskate1912
picey1937
tight-assed1961
chintzy1964
tightwad1976
1827 S. Hardman Battle of Waterloo 2 Away I ran into his meanly old hoard.
1997 Spy (N.Y.) May 12 I've been mau-maued by many subjects, from Hannah Arendt to Susan Sontag, but Spike was the least meanly of them all.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† meanlyadv.1
Obsolete.
1.
a. To a moderate degree; tolerably, fairly well.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > moderateness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb]
meetlyOE
better?c1225
measurelyc1350
renablyc1350
measurablya1382
skilfullya1387
meanlya1398
moderatelya1398
temperately1398
reasonablyc1400
faira1413
mean1535
competently1541
meanably1577
tarblish1842
mediumly1852
quite1854
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > mediocrity > [adverb] > tolerably
meanlya1398
tolerably1602
tolerable1673
sufferably1875
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 189 Þe glebe þerof bereþ menelich [L. mediocriter] corne and fruyt.
c1450 Contin. Lydgate's Secrees (Sloane 2464) 2694 (MED) Flessh soffte..Or meenely sharp and of mene stature.
1533 J. Heywood Play of Wether sig. Diiii Your fyrst man wold haue wether clere and not wyndy The seconde the same saue cooles to blow meanly The thyrd desyred stormes and wynde most extermely.
1533 T. More Confutation Barnes in Wks. 808/2 A church of folke, not menely good, but of folk so good, so pure, & so cleane, that [etc.].
1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. B.ijv Strong, and tough, meanly betweene hardenes and softnes.
1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. E M. Bar. Canst thou read? Nich. Forsooth though none of the best, yet meanly.
1641 J. Milton Of Reformation 52 He that is but meanly read in our Chronicles needs not be instructed.
1764 Philos. Trans. 1763 (Royal Soc.) 53 182 When a meanly-refrangible ray passes from water into air.
b. At a moderate speed.
ΚΠ
1526 Grete Herball xvii. sig. Bii/2 The wylde worketh meanely, and ought to be put in receptes..for the tame worketh impetiously.
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes II. 1141 I asked them how many leagues from Toro to Cairo,—they told me 7 days journey going meanly.
2. not meanly: greatly. So also more than meanly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > to a considerable degree
in good measurec1225
a quantityc1330
in mannerc1425
not meanly1533
in (a) great (also large, good, ample, etc.) measure1581
to some tune1692
1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani xix. sig. Piv In whiche thynge veryly it shall not p [ro] fyte meanly agaynst al kynde of temptacyon, to haue some certayne sentences prepared and redy.
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. P4 v Your father in his life time did not meanely provide for your marriage.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) i. i. 58 My wife, not meanely prowd of two such boyes. View more context for this quotation
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso ii. xiv. 238 It would have been more then meanly pleasing to the Litterati.
a1662 P. Heylyn Cyprianus Angl. (1671) ii. 242 Laud..was not meanly offended, as he had good reason to be.
3. With expressed or implied limitation: only moderately; not above the average; slightly, indifferently, or poorly.In later usage indistinguishable from meanly adv.2 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adverb]
poorlyc1230
badlyc1400
meanly1550
inferiorly1605
indifferently1676
queerly1699
awfully1815
shickery1851
shoddily1899
terribly1906
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > mediocrity > [adverb]
so-so1530
indifferently?c1550
meanly1550
colourlessly1572
indifferent1583
passable1591
passablya1610
nohow1779
so-soishly1842
so-and-so1844
monochromatically1890
serviceably1896
comme ci, comme ça1945
1550 R. Sherry Treat. Schemes & Tropes B2 I trowe there is no man, though he be meanlye learned, but he knoweth [etc.].
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. xv. 101 They are set on a row..in an ouen very meanly warme.
1695 J. Dryden tr. C. A. Du Fresnoy De Arte Graphica Pref. p. xxx In the Reign of Domitian..Poetry was but meanly cultivated, but Painting eminently flourish'd.
1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) I. 327 He shews himself..to be very meanly skill'd in the Fathers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
meanlyadv.2
/ˈmiːnli/, U.S. /ˈminli/ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > [adverb]
idlyc825
vainly1382
voidly1402
waste1418
meanly?c1430
toomly1606
impertinently1631
insignificantly1651
objectlessly1860
futilely1881
?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 31 He þat leueþ þe more good..synneþ not menely but greuously.
2. With reference to social status, class, etc.: humbly, basely.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [adverb]
beneathc1000
low1340
meanlya1500
baselya1529
above (or below, beneath, under) the salt1597
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 171 (MED) Amonges hey men and lordes he contynueth hym heyly, Amonges mene Pepill menly, So that he may acorde to ham all.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iv. iii. 37 His daughter meanelie haue I matcht in mariage. View more context for this quotation
c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 108 We Menures..hondlen no money but menelich faren And haven hunger at [the] meate at ich a mel ones.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1674 (1955) IV. 39 She was infinitely censur'd for marrying so meanely, being herselfe alyed to the royal family.
1765 I. Bickerstaff Maid of Mill i. v. 10 To what purpose could a man of his distinction cast his eyes on a girl, poor, meanly born?
1819 Ld. Byron Let. 16 Nov. (1976) VI. 242 I must..live accordingly,—that is meanly in London & difficultly.
1869 R. Browning Ring & Bk. III. ix. 228 I' the very breast of Jove, no meanlier throned!
3. Indifferently, ill, poorly, badly. Chiefly with passive verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adverb] > in a paltry, mean, or contemptible manner
lowly1440
peltingly1555
meanlyc1561
miserablya1586
scurvily1616
mean1719
pettily1791
peddlingly1892
c1561 E. Underhill Autobiogr. in J. G. Nichols Narr. Reformation (1859) 166 Syr John Gage and thre of the jugeis, thatt weare menly armed in olde bryggantynes, weare so fryghtede.
1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 1589/2 Sir William Hamelton, & James Leirmonth..whose message was so meanly liked, that they were fayne to sende an herald into Scotlande for other Ambassadors.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. iii. 170 They are passing rich, yet go they very meanly attired.
1672 J. Dryden Def. Epilogue in Conquest Granada 163 [Many of Shakespeare's plays] were..so meanly written, that the Comedy neither caus'd your mirth, nor the serious part your concernment.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa IV. xii. 55 I think, my dear, I am not meanly off.
1783 E. Burke Speech Fox's E. India Bill in Wks. (1842) I. 300 Ministers..caused persons meanly qualified to be chosen directors.
1812 Burke's Abridgem. Eng. Hist. in Wks. V. 555 Their towns were meanly built and more meanly fortified.
1851 G. Borrow Lavengro lxviii A rather pretty-looking woman, but..meanly dressed.
1936 R. Lehmann Weather in Streets iv. i. 377 The fireplace..was too meanly proportioned and grudging to hold a fire worth lighting.
1980 Times 5 Dec. 1390/1 By the metropolis's jeering estimates, of course, these are..a series of worthy, yes, but oh how meanly parochial dullsvilles.
1993 C. Harrod-Eagles Dynasty (BNC) 209 One of those filthy tenements..so meanly built that a man standing amongst the offal and rubbish in the middle of the street could have touched the houses to either side by stretching out his hands.
4. In a way that shows an unpleasant disposition or a small mind; sordidly, selfishly, stingily.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > ignobleness or baseness > [adverb]
undignelyc1315
poorlyc1390
vilea1400
ignobly1594
unnobly1595
meanly1602
meana1626
unhandsomely1650
projectedly1660
unheroically1783
undignifiedly1856
raffishly1897
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [adverb]
uncharitablyc1386
meanly1602
scurvily1616
meana1626
ungenerously1722
unsportinglya1974
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iv. ii. sig. G3v He that's a villaine, or but meanely sowl'd.
1687 J. Dryden Hind & Panther i. 25 Nor will I meanly tax her constancy.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. To Mucker, to scramble for money; to hoard up; to get or save meanly.
1784 T. A. Mann Let. 4 June in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) 428 That M. Lavoisier..should meanly appropriate to himself Mr. Cavendish's excellent discovery.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda I. i. iv. 69 We cannot speak a loyal word and be meanly silent..in the same moment.
1949 G. Wilson Knight Wheel of Fire x. 214 Nothing more meanly unpleasant could be imagined... His greed, flattery, hypocrisy, and finally open confession of baseness, are drawn in swift, masterly strokes.
1992 A. Gray Poor Things (1993) 263 If she is meanly and cruelly used nobody will remark upon it.
5. to think (also believe, etc.) meanly of: to think little of; to have a low estimation of. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > hold in contempt [verb (transitive)]
forhowc900
overhowOE
withhuheOE
forhecchec1230
scorna1275
despise1297
spise13..
to set at a pease, at a pie's heel, at a pin's fee1303
to hold, have scorn at, ofc1320
to think scorn ofc1320
to set short by1377
to tell short of1377
to set naught or nought (nothing, not anything) by1390
spitea1400
contemnc1425
nought1440
overlooka1450
mainprizec1450
lightly1451
vilipendc1470
indeign1483
misprize1483
dain?1518
to look down on (also upon)1539
floccipend1548
contempta1555
to take scorn ata1566
embase1577
sdeign1590
disesteem1594
vilify1599
to set lightly, coldly1604
disrepute1611
to hold cheapa1616
avile1616
floccify1623
meprize1633
to think (also believe, etc.) meanly of1642
publican1648
naucify1653
disesteem1659
invalue1673
to set light, at light1718
sneeze1806
sniff1837
derry1896
to hold no brief for1918
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 387 Thinke the meanlier of us when we thinke the highliest of ourselves.
1656 M. Casaubon Treat. Enthvsiasme To Rdr. Neither do I think so meanly of any truth, that can be reduced to any reality, whether sensible or unsensible.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xi. vii. 145 I will not believe so meanly of you. View more context for this quotation
1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man i. 13 Can Olivia think so meanly of my honour?
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice III. xvi. 280 My parents, who..allowed, encouraged, almost taught me..to think meanly of all the rest of the world. View more context for this quotation
1873 A. Trollope Eustace Diamonds II. liii. 361 Do you believe so meanly of me as to imagine that I should have said to you what I have said, if [etc.]?
1892 A. Conan Doyle Adventures Sherlock Holmes x. 257 I am very sorry if I have given you pain, and I hope that you do not think very meanly of me.
1956 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. A. 119 147 I would not have you think that I believe that that early instruction was wasted upon me, that I think meanly of it.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1OEadj.2?a1425
adj.31827adv.1a1398
adv.2?c1430