doctorly

D2O1C3T1O1R1L1Y4

adverb

In the manner of a doctor.

OriginProto-Germanic *līką ← Proto-Indo-European *leyg- ← English doctor →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

adverbdoctorly (comparative more doctorly, superlative most doctorly)

comparative more doctorly · superlative most doctorly

  1. In the manner of a doctor.
adjectivedoctorly (comparative more doctorly, superlative most doctorly)

comparative more doctorly · superlative most doctorly

  1. Doctorlike.

    Someone had found a doctor, and she was doing doctorly things and it was only then, with the girl on the bench, that I saw the child's face up close.

    2023, Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn Harris, The Eyes and the Impossible, pages 92-93

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
doctorlikedoctory

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*deḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*doḱ-éye-ti
  3. Proto-Italic*dokejō
  4. Proto-Italic*dokeō
  5. Ancient Greekδιδάσκω (didáskō)
  6. Latindoceō
  7. Latindoctor
  8. Old Frenchdoctur
  9. Anglo-Normandoctour
  10. Middle Englishdoctour
  11. Englishdoctor
  12. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  13. Proto-Germanic*līką
  14. Englishdoctorly

From doctor + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

doctorly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/doctorly

MLA

“doctorly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/doctorly. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “doctorly,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/doctorly.

Source: doctorly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.