English
selly
Selly comes from Middle English selly ‘strange, astounding, wondrous’, from Proto-Germanic *seldalīkaz ‘unusual, uncommon’, and ultimately from *seldaz ‘rare’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*seldaz‘rare’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*seldalīkaz‘unusual, uncommon’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*seldalīk‘strange’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sellīċ‘rare, strange, wondrous’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500selly‘strange, astounding, wondrous’
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*seldaz‘rare’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*seldalīkaz‘unusual, uncommon’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*seldalīk‘strange’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sellīċ‘rare, strange, wondrous’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500selly‘strange, astounding, wondrous’
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485same form
Earliest quotation: 1470–1485, (please specify the chapter): “His brother was […] selly sick and sore unsound.”
Formed from seld + -ly
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sel- ‘to jump, spring’
result, sale, savage, salmon, insult, salon, exile, silva, salvage, resilient, sally, salient, salle, sylvan, sill, somersault, salacious, slink, selva, seel, 18 more
Today it means
adj Rare; wonderful; admirable
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *seldaz / selly