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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread comely #86775 11/12/2002 4:42 PM Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 2 ginax stranger ginax stranger Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 2 when do words change?? both my daughter's dad and i thought comely was plain, boring...the dictionary on my daughter's mac uses it in the exact opposite manner. i said the word changed, he said words don't change. any thoughts?? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: comely #86776 11/12/2002 4:46 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 when do words change?? Always he said words don't change. That's just silly. (Or do I mean nice?) Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: comely #86777 11/12/2002 4:55 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Come to the point, Faldage! Comely still means "attractive" to me. Not quite beautiful, but almost. You didn't by any chance confuse "comely" with "homely"? Now that I think of it there's no place like home, why should 'homely' be a put-down? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: comely #86778 11/12/2002 4:58 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. comely SYLLABICATION: come·ly PRONUNCIATION: kml ADJECTIVE: Inflected forms: come·li·er, come·li·est 1. Pleasing and wholesome in appearance; attractive. See synonyms at beautiful. 2. Suitable; seemly: comely behavior. ETYMOLOGY: Middle English comli, alteration (probably influenced by bicomli, seemly) of cumli, from Old English cmlic, lovely, delicate, from cme, beautiful. OTHER FORMS: comeli·ness —NOUN Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: comely/homely #86779 11/12/2002 6:05 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass this is an interesting pair. comely has always had the sense of "fair, pretty, ‘nice-looking’, pleasing: in modern use implying a lower or homelier style of personal beauty, which pleases but does not excite admiration"; and homely was originally characteristic of the home, esp. a humble home, and when applied to a person, "of commonplace appearance or features; not beautiful, ‘plain’, uncomely. [E.A.] [quotes from OED2] so, getting out the ol' continuum chart, ugly______________homely___comely_____________beautiful Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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