Link Centre Dictionary

homely

ho·mely

UK/ˈhəʊmli/ US/ˈhoʊmli/ uncommon uk us

adjective

1.

lacking in physical beauty or proportion

  • “a homely child”
  • “several of the buildings were downright homely”
  • “a plain girl with a freckled face”
Synonyms
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2.

having a feeling of home; cozy and comfortable

  • “the homely everyday atmosphere”
  • “a homey little inn”
Synonyms
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3.

plain and unpretentious

  • “homely truths”
  • “letters to his son full of homely advice”
  • “homely fare”
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4.

without artificial refinement or elegance

  • “plain homely furniture”
  • “homely manners”
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Origin

From Middle English homly, hoomly, hamely (“domestic, familiar, plain, unattractive”), from Old English *hāmlīċ (“of the home, domestic”), from Proto-West Germanic *haimalīk (“of or characteristic of home”), equivalent to home + -ly. Cognate with Scots hamely (“familiar, personal, private”), West Frisian heimelik, Dutch heimelijk (“secret, secretive, clandestine”), German heimlich (“secret, secretive, clandestine, undercover”), Danish hemmelig (“secret”), Swedish hemlig (“secret, concealed, privy, covert”), Faroese heimligur (“homelike, homey”), Icelandic heimlegur (“homely; worldly”).

Phrases

  • homely as a hedge fence

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.