folily

Middle English

Alternative forms

• foliliche, folyly, folilyche, folylyche, folely, folyliche, folilich, folilye, folylych, folilie, folili

Etymology

From folye +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfoːliːliː/, /ˈfoːliliː/, /ˈfoːləliː/, /ˈfoːliːliːtʃ(ə)/

Adjective

folily

1. Foolishly, idiotically, in a ill-advised or knowledgeless way.
   • 1387, Chaucer, “v. 7061”, in The Tale of Melibee‎^[1]:

     ...for thynges that been folily doon, and that been in hope of Fortune, shullen nevere come to good ende.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. Immorally; in a sinful, immoral or evil way.
3. (rare) Lustfully, lewdly.

References

• “fōlīlī (adv.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-17.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “folily”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)