homely

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homely

/ˈhəʊmli/ UK
/ˈhoʊmli/ US

Rhymes with -əʊmli

Where it comes from

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”).

adjective homelier · more homely · homeliest · most homely · hamely

Characteristic of, belonging to, or befitting a home; domestic, cosy. An interesting illustration of this is the way in which the English flower names which were in use till very recently are being ousted by Greek ones, snapdragon becoming antirrhinum, forget-me-not becoming myosotis, etc. It is hard to see any practical reason for this change of fashion: it is probab
Canada, US Lacking in beauty or elegance, plain in appearance, physically unattractive. There is none so homely but loves a looking-glass.
Opposite: comely
UK, dialectal On intimate or friendly terms with (someone); familiar; at home (with a person); intimate. With all these men I was right homely, and communed with them long and oft.
UK, dialectal, of animals Domestic; tame.
UK, dialectal Personal; private.
UK, dialectal Friendly; kind; gracious; cordial.
India Conservative and family-oriented. I am seeking a beautiful homely girl for marriage.
Simple; plain; familiar; unelaborate; unadorned. a homely garment

Translations

Every language

adj cozy

Deutsch	heimelig

adj characteristic of or belonging to home

Español	hogareño
Deutsch	heimatlich

adj plain, physically unattractive

Español	mal arrostrado, mal gestado
Русский	невзрачный nevzračnyj

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MLA

"homely." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/homely. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

homely. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/homely

Chicago

"homely." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/homely.

BibTeX

@misc{homely_2026,
  title = {homely},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/homely},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}