manly

See also: Manly

English

Etymology

From Middle English manly, manli, manlich, from Old English *manlīċ (suggested by adverb manlīċe (“in a way befitting a person; nobly, stately”)), from Proto-Germanic *mannlīkaz, equivalent to man +‎ -ly.

Cognate with Old High German manlīh (“manly”) (German männlich), Dutch mannelijk, Old Norse mannligr (“human”) (Danish mandlig, Swedish manlig).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmænli/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Adjective

manly (comparative manlier, superlative manliest)

1. Having the characteristics of a man.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], part 1, 2nd edition, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene vi:

     what God or Feend, or ſpirit of the earth,
     Or Monſter turned to a manly ſhape,
     Or of what mould or mettel he be made,
     What ſtar or ſtate ſoeuer gouern him,
     Let vs put on our meet incountering mindes, […]

2. Having qualities viewed as befitting a man; courageous, resolute, noble.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

     Let's briefly put on manly readiness.

   • 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis; John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fifteenth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:

     Serene and manly, harden'd to sustain / The load of life.

   • 2001, Thomas W. Smith, Revaluing Ethics: Aristotle's Dialectical Pedagogy (page 86)

     Without a successful defense of one's city, none of the other virtues would be possible; manly courage seems to be a precondition for anything else worth achieving in life.

Antonyms

• womanly

Derived terms

• manlily
• manliness

 

Translations

having the characteristics of a man

• Arabic: رُجُولِيّ‎ (rujūliyy)
• Armenian: առնական (hy) (aṙnakan)
• Bengali: মরদ (bn) (morod)
• Bulgarian: мъжки (bg) (mǎžki)
• Cantonese:

  Cantonese: 男氣／男气 (naam⁴ hei³)

• Catalan: viril
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 男子氣／男子气 (zh) (nánzǐqì)

• Czech: mužný, mužský (cs)
• Danish: mandlig (da)
• Dutch: mannelijk (nl)
• Finnish: miehekäs (fi)
• French: viril (fr)
• Georgian: კაცური (ḳacuri), მამაკაცური (mamaḳacuri), ვაჟკაცური (važḳacuri)
• German: männlich (de)
• Greek: αντρίκειος (el) (antríkeios), αρρενωπός (el) m (arrenopós), ανδροπρεπής (el) (androprepís)

  Ancient: ἀνδρώδης (andrṓdēs)

• Hebrew: גַּבְרִי‎ (he) (gavri)
• Hungarian: férfias (hu)
• Indonesian: jantan (id)
• Irish: fearúil
• Japanese: 男らしい (ja) (おとこらしい, otokorashii)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: پیاوانە‎ (pyawane)

• Latin: masculus
• Lithuanian: výriškas (lt)
• Maori: whakatāne
• Middle English: manly
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mannlig (no)

  Nynorsk: mannleg

• Occitan: masculin (oc)
• Old English: werlīċ
• Pashto: نر‎ (ps) (nër), نارينه‎ (ps) (nâriná)
• Persian: مردانه‎ (fa) (mardâne)
• Polish: męski (pl), mężny (pl) (also: courageous)
• Portuguese: varonil (pt), viril (pt)
• Romanian: masculin (ro), bărbătesc (ro), viril (ro), bărbătos (ro)
• Russian: му́жественный (ru) (múžestvennyj) (also: courageous), мужеподо́бный (ru) (mužepodóbnyj) (manlike), мужско́й (ru) (mužskój) (masculine)
• Samogitian: vīrėšks
• Sanskrit: वृषन् (sa) (vṛṣan)
• Scottish Gaelic: fearail, duineil, tapaidh
• Spanish: varonil (es)
• Swedish: manlig (sv)
• Turkish: erkeksi (tr)
• Yiddish: מענלעך‎ (menlekh)

having the qualities of a man such as courage

• Bengali: মরদ (bn) (morod)
• Bulgarian: мъжествен (bg) (mǎžestven)
• Catalan: masculí (ca), viril
• Czech: mužný
• Danish: mandig
• Finnish: miehekäs (fi)
• Irish: fearúil
• Latin: virilis (la)
• Maori: taitoa
• Middle English: manly
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mandig (no)

• Romanian: bărbătos (ro)
• Slovak: mužný
• Spanish: viril (es)

Anagrams

• Lyman, Lynam

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English *manlīċ, from Proto-West Germanic *mannlīk, from Proto-Germanic *mannlīkaz; equivalent to mon +‎ -ly (adjectival suffix).

Alternative forms

• maneli, manli, manlich, manliche, monly
• (Early ME) monlich

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmanliː/, /ˈmɔnliː/, /-liːtʃ/

Adjective

manly

1. Human; pertaining to humankind.
2. Male, masculine; pertaining to men.
3. Having qualities befitting a man; courageous, resolute, noble.

Descendants

• English: manly
• Scots: manly

References

• “manlī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Old English manlīċe; equivalent to mon +‎ -ly (adverbial suffix).

Alternative forms

• manleche, manli, manlich, manliche, manlie, manlik, manlike, manneleche, mannely, monlik, monly
• (Early ME) monliche

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmanliː/, /ˈmɔndliː/, /-liːtʃ(ə)/

Adverb

manly

1. In a human or civilised way.
2. In a way befitting a man; courageously, resolutely, nobly.
3. (rare) In a male or masculine way.

References

• “manlī, adv.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.