Word.ws English Dictionary

counterly

counterly adverb: in a way that is counter to something else, for example in colour (being divided, as a field, bordure, etc, into different colours), or placement (facing different directions, or crossed).

Adverb

counterly (not comparable)

  1. (rare) In a way that is counter to something else, for example in colour (being divided, as a field, bordure, etc, into different colours), or placement (facing different directions, or crossed).
    • 3 He beareth Azure a Bordure counter-componed: Or, and Guiles; which is as much to say, as Compounded of these two Colours counterly placed. Note that Countercompony consisteth euermore of two tracts onely and no more.1611, John Guillim, John Barkham, A Display of Heraldrie: Manifesting a More Easie Accesse to the Knowledge Thereof Then Hath Beene Hitherto Published by Any, Through the Benefit of Method, Whereinto...
    • N. 23. Gules, a cherub, having three pair of wings, whereof the uppermost and lowermost are counterly crossed, and the middlemost displayed or, name, Buocafoco.1829, Hugh Clark, An Introduction to Heraldry ...: The Whole Forming a Complete Manual of Rank and Nobility, page 48

Questions about counterly

What does counterly mean?
Counterly means in a way that is counter to something else, for example in colour (being divided, as a field, bordure, etc, into different colours), or placement (facing different directions, or crossed).
What part of speech is counterly?
Counterly is an adverb.

Words near counterly in the dictionary

  1. counterlocked
  2. counterlocking
  3. counterlocks
  4. counterlung
  5. counterlungs
  6. counterly
  7. countermachination
  8. countermachinations
  9. countermagic
  10. countermagical
  11. countermajoritarian

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: counterly (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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