winly

W4I1N1L1Y4

adjective

Joyous; winsome; pleasant; gracious; goodly.

OriginMiddle English winly ← Old English wynlīċ ← Proto-West Germanic *wunnjulīk →
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Meanings

adjectivewinly (comparative more winly, superlative most winly)

comparative more winly · superlative most winly

  1. obsoleteJoyous; winsome; pleasant; gracious; goodly.
adverbwinly (comparative more winly, superlative most winly)

comparative more winly · superlative most winly

  1. obsoleteDelightfully; pleasantly.
  2. dialectalobsoleteQuietly.

Origin

  1. Proto-West Germanic*wunnjulīk“joyous”
  2. Old Englishwynlīċ“joyous”
  3. Middle Englishwinly
  4. Englishwinly

Inherited from Middle English winly, wynnelych, wunliche, from Old English wynlīċ (“joyous”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunnjulīk (“joyous”), from *wunjō (“joy, delight, desire”), equivalent to winne + -ly. More at winne, winsome.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

winly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/winly

MLA

“winly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/winly. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “winly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/winly.

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