selly

Alternative forms

• silly, sillie (Scotland)

Etymology

From Middle English selly, selly, sellich, from Old English sellīċ, seldlīċ (“rare, strange, wondrous, extraordinary, wonderful; having unusually good qualities, excellent, admirable; select, better, superior, choice”), from Proto-Germanic *seldalīkaz, equivalent to seld +‎ -ly. Cognate with Scots selly, silly (“approved, good, worthy”), Old Saxon seldlīk (“rare, wonderful”), Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (sildaleiks, “wonderful”).

Adjective

selly (comparative sellier or more selly, superlative selliest or most selly)

1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, MLE) rare; wonderful; admirable
   • 2017 December 22, “No Hook”, performed by 61 – Cee Drilla x Beans x Nz x Ruger:

     And I am whipping off raw, that’s messy
     The nitties them call that selly

Adverb

selly (comparative sellier or more selly, superlative selliest or most selly)

1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) wonderfully, wondrous.
   • Malory

     His brother was […] selly sick and sore unsound.

Noun

selly (plural sellies)

1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) a marvel; wonder; something wonderful or rare
   • 1995, Robert J. Blanch, Julian N. Wasserman, From Pearl to Gawain:

     The line is a masterstroke of noncommitment, for the event is a "selly" in the sight of some unidentified readers.

Anagrams

• Lyles, yells

Alternative forms

• selli, sellich, selliche, sillich, sullich, seollich, sælliche, sellic, solly, sællic, selle, celly

Etymology

From Old English sellīċ, seldlīċ, syllīċ, from Proto-Germanic *seldalīkaz; equivalent to selde (“uncommon”) +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛliː/, /ˈsɛliːtʃ(ə)/, /ˈsɛleː/

Adjective

selly

1. weird, unusual, odd, bizarre
2. strange, astounding, wondrous
3. amazing, extraordinary, breathtaking
4. many (in number); abundant.

Adverb

selly

1. weirdly, wondrously, oddly, surprisingly
2. In a agile manner; speedily; with power and force.
3. (By) a lot; extremely, to a great degree.

Noun

selly (plural sellys)

1. A wondrous or astounding happening or action.