† bowerlyadj.
Obsolete exc. dialect.
Large; stout, burly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective] > of large volume or bulky
burlyc1400
bulkedc1420
massyc1540
bowerly1542
lumpish1545
big-bodied1561
massy?1571
spacious1595
voluminousa1635
grossy1648
bulkishc1660
bulky1687
bulksomea1693
material1715
bouksome1785
dinosaurian1916
dinosauric1922
the world > life > the body > bodily height > tallness > [adjective] > and broad
massya1382
stout1390
burlyc1400
corporalc1475
massive1485
poisy1538
big-made1566
chopping1566
grossa1578
large-bodied1577
weighty1581
burly-boned1590
mastya1593
lumbering1593
giantisha1635
gigantic1651
mastiff1668
large-made1725
lusty1777
bowerly1794
squelching1854
beef to the heel(s)1867
hefty1867
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 184v He had seen..right greate and bowerly images.
1794 J. Wolcot Compl. Epist. to Bruce in Wks. II. 478 The bowerly hostess, for a cart~horse fit.
1864 E. Capern Devon Provincialism Bowerly, stout, rotund.
1880 L. Parr Adam & Eve xxi. 298 Eve's a fine bowerly maid.
1880 M. A. Courtney W. Cornwall Words in M. A. Courtney & T. Q. Couch Gloss. Words Cornwall 6/1 Bowerly, burly; corpulent.
1880 T. Q. Couch E. Cornwall Words in M. A. Courtney & T. Q. Couch Gloss. Words Cornwall 78 Bowerly, stately and comely.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
<
adj.1542