English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English staately, staatly, stateli, statelie, stately, statelyche, statelye, statli, statly; equivalent to state +‎ -ly. Compare stour.

Adjective

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stately (comparative statelier, superlative stateliest)

  1. (of people) Worthy of respect; dignified, regal.
  2. (of movement) Deliberate, unhurried; dignified.
    • 2010 October 14, “An Own Goal on Gay Rights”, in The Economist:
      And much as they welcome his promise to repeal "don't ask, don't tell", they are dismayed by the stately pace and bungled tactics of his attempts to do so.
    • 2021 February 3, Drachinifel, 20:43 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - Santa Cruz (IJN 2 : 2 USN)[1], archived from the original on 4 December 2022:
      At about twenty past three in the afternoon, these aircraft duly began to arrive. The cruiser Northampton was towing Hornet at a stately five knots when, out of the sky, came seven torpedo-armed aircraft. They managed to miss the barely-moving Hornet with all but one drop... but one hit was really all that it took, the location causing additional damage to the stricken carrier and demolishing most of the repairs that had been made to the earlier damage.
  3. Grand; impressive; imposing.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English stately, statli, equivalent to state +‎ -ly.

Adverb

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stately (comparative more stately, superlative most stately)

  1. In a stately manner.

Anagrams

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