goodly

English

From Middle English goodly, goodlich, gōdlich, from Old English gōdlīċ (“good, goodly”), from Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz (“good, goodly”), equivalent to good +‎ -ly. Cognate with German gütlich (“friendly”), Icelandic góðlegur (“benign”).

goodly (comparative goodlier, superlative goodliest)

(archaic) Good, pleasing in appearance.
- Algernon Charles Swinburne, A Ballad of Death, lines 26–27
  O Sin, thou knowest that all thy shame in her
  
  Was made a goodly thing
Quite large; considerable; sufficient; adequate; more than enough.
a goodly sum of money

walking at a goodly pace
- 2014, Dilip D’souza, Final Test:
  Like any kid who played a game or two in school, I happened early on a golden rule: if I ate a goodly amount, I had better wait a goodly time before starting play—at least half an hour, preferably more.
- 2014, Lael R. Neill, Sand Island Diaries:
  I am glad I brought a goodly supply of needlework with me. It's about all there is to do.

From Middle English goodly, goodliche, gōdliche, from Old English gōdlīċe (“goodly”), from the adjective, equivalent to good +‎ -ly. Cognate with Middle High German guotlīche, güetlīche.

goodly (comparative goodlier, superlative goodliest)

(obsolete) In a goodly way; courteously, graciously.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter xxij, in Le Morte Darthur, book XVII:
  Thenne he sente for the thre knyghtes & they came afore hym / and he cryed hem mercy of that he had done to them / and they forgaf hit hym goodely and he dyed anone / Whanne the kynge was dede / alle the cyte was desmayed and wyst not who myghte be her kynge
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, book II, canto IX:
  Goodly she entertaind those noble knights, / And brought them vp into her castle hall […]
(dialectal or obsolete) Well; excellently.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)
- 2011, Dawn French, Dear Fatty:
  I know doin' marriage is tough and hard to pull off for a long time, but from what I has been led to believe, you two was doin' it quite goodly. As goodly as a huntin' shootin' fishin' filmin' drinkin' Englishy can do with a gyratin' pumpin' singin' lookin' wearinv Yankee-doodle icon. It was seemin' to be good together.

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