gingerly
Syllables: gin·ger·ly/ˈdʒɪn(d)ʒəli/US/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚli/
gingerly adverb: in a cautious and delicate manner; (very) carefully or cautiously.
Adverb
gingerly (comparative more gingerly, superlative most gingerly)
- In a cautious and delicate manner; (very) carefully or cautiously.
- He placed the glass jar gingerly on the concrete step.
- In an other corner, Mistris Minx, a marchants wife, that will eate no cherries, forsooth, but when they are at twentie shillings a pound, that lookes as simperingly as if she were besmeard, and iets it as gingerly as if she were dancing the canaries, […]1592, Thomas Nash[e], Pierce Penilesse His Supplication to the Deuill. […], London: […] [John Charlewood for] Richard Ihones, […], →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- ginger, tentatively, warily
- Chiefly of dancing or walking: done with small, dainty steps; daintily; also, with excessive delicacy; affectedly, mincingly.
- Oh! ſhe lookes ſo ſugredly, ſo ſimpringly, ſo gingerly, ſo amarouſly, ſo amiably. […] [She] is ſuch an intycing ſhee-vvitch, carrying the charmes of your Ievvels about her. Oh!1604 (first performance), Tho[mas] Dekker; Iohn Webster [i.e., John Webster], West-ward Hoe. […], London: […] [William Jaggard], and to be sold by Iohn Hodgets […], published 1607, →OCLC, Act II
Adjective
gingerly (comparative more gingerly or (rare, proscribed) gingerlier, superlative most gingerly or (rare, proscribed) gingerliest)
- Often of movements: very careful, cautious, or delicate.
- We can honestly commend the Atlantic Monthly as the most able and spirited of American periodicals, at the present time, and we like it, moreover, because it dares have opinions and to express them in unmistakable terms, on subjects which when referred to at all, by most of the current magazines...1857 November 30, “The Atlantic Monthly”, in Wisconsin Daily State Journal, volume VI, number 366, Madison, Wis., →OCLC, page [2], column 3
- But, ther's somethin' in the very look and voice of Jeems Strebling, even in his gingerly walk, that riles all the black drop in me.1867, R[ebecca] H[arding] Davis, “The Valley of the Shadow”, in Waiting for the Verdict, New York, N.Y.: Sheldon & Company, published 1868, →OCLC, page 174
- Often of a person or the way they move: dainty, delicate; also, excessively delicate; affected, mincing.
- All yᵉ rest of my trimmest, tricksiest, gingerliest ioyes, / But very tædious and most odious toyes?1573 September, Gabriel Harvey, “The Schollars Loove, or Reconcilement of Contraryes”, in Edward John Long Scott, editor, Letter-Book of Gabriel Harvey, A.D. 1573–1580. […] ([Camden Society...
gingerly meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
gingerly in Tamil
- முன் எச்சரிக்கை
gingerly in Urdu
- آہستہ قدمی سے, بڑی احتیاط سے
gingerly in Bengali
- অতি সাবধানে, সতর্কতার সাথে, সন্তর্পণে
gingerly in Malayalam
- ശ്രദ്ധാപൂർവ്വമായ, ജാഗ്രത്തായ
More languagesFewer languages
- gingerly in Kannada
- ಜೋಪಾನವಾಗಿ, ಹುಷಾರಾಗಿ, ಎಚ್ಚರಿಕೆಯಿಂದ, ಜಾಗರೂಕತೆಯಿಂದ
Examples of gingerly in a sentence
- [E]nter you the chambers peaceably, locke the dores gingerly, looke vpon your vviues wofully, but vpon the euill-doers, moſt vvickedly.1604 (first performance), Tho[mas] Dekker; Iohn Webster [i.e., John Webster], West-ward Hoe. […], London: […] [William Jaggard], and to be...
- Prithee, gentle officer, / Handle me gingerly, or I fall to pieces, / Before I can plead mine.1624 November 3 (first performance), Philip Massinger, “The Parliament of Love”, in W[illiam] Gifford, editor, The Plays of Philip...
- My mother was going very gingerly in the dark along the paſſage which led to the parlour, as my uncle Toby pronounced the word wife.1762, [Laurence Sterne], chapter V, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume V, London: […] T. Becket and P. A....
- Gingerly the ape-man clambered up the frail rope.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 208:
Synonyms of gingerly
Forms of gingerly
| Adverb | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more gingerly |
| superlative | most gingerly |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more gingerly |
| superlative | most gingerly |
| comparative proscribed (rare) | gingerlier |
| superlative proscribed (rare) | gingerliest |
Origin of gingerly
The second element is -ly; the first element may be Anglo-Norman gençur or Old French gençor, gensor, comparative forms (also attested as positives) of gent (“beautiful, noble, pleasant, courteous”). The Oxford English Dictionary notes, however, that there is a gap of a few centuries between the last appearance of gençor, etc., and the first appearance of gingerly. The adjective is derived from the adverb, possibly because -ly is also a suffix forming adjectives.
Words formed from gingerly
Questions about gingerly
- What does gingerly mean?
- Gingerly means in a cautious and delicate manner; (very) carefully or cautiously.
- What is gingerly in Tamil?
- Gingerly in Tamil is முன் எச்சரிக்கை. See Gingerly meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use gingerly in a sentence?
- [E]nter you the chambers peaceably, locke the dores gingerly, looke vpon your vviues wofully, but vpon the euill-doers, moſt vvickedly.
- What part of speech is gingerly?
- Gingerly can be an adverb or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce gingerly?
- Gingerly is pronounced /ˈdʒɪn(d)ʒəli/ (UK).
Words near gingerly in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gingerly (page history and authors); gingerly (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); gingerly (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Gingerly (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); gingerly (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); gingerly (Kannada Wiktionary) (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-gingerly.wav.
Cite this entry: “gingerly.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gingerly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.