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needly

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needly¹

  • /ˈniːd.li/

Where it comes from

From Middle English needely, neodliche, from Old English nēodlīċe (“eagerly, earnestly, carefully, zealously, diligently, sedulously; greatly”); equivalent to need (“desire”) + -ly. Cognate with Old Saxon niudlīko (“zealously, carefully”), German niedlich (“desirable, appealing, lovely, cute”).

adverb needlier · more needly · needliest · most needly

  1. archaic Zealously; carefully; earnestly.

needly²

  • /ˈniːd.li/

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English nedely. By surface analysis, need (“necessity, need”) + -ly (adverbial suffix). Compare Middle Dutch nodelike, Middle Low German nōtliken, Middle High German nōtliche.

adverb needlier · more needly · needliest · most needly

  1. archaic Necessarily; of necessity. Or if sower woe delights in fellowship, And needly will be rankt with other griefes
  2. archaic Urgently.

needly³

  • /ˈniː.dəl.i/
  • /ˈniːd.li/

adjective needlier · more needly · needliest · most needly

  1. informal Like a needle or needles. a needly horn

    Similar: acicular

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Cite this
MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{needly_2026,
  title = {needly},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/needly},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}