lightly

English

Etymology

From Middle English lyghtly, liȝtliche, lihtliche, from Old English lēohtlīċe, equivalent to light +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪtli/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adverb

lightly (comparative lightlier or more lightly, superlative lightliest or most lightly)

1. In a light manner.

   As a teacher, I don't take rudeness in class lightly.

   • 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 24962326:

     Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ "I never understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."

Derived terms

• take lightly

Translations

in a light manner

• Catalan: lleugerament
• Czech: lehce (cs)
• Faroese: lættliga
• Finnish: kevyesti
• French: légèrement (fr)
• German: leicht (de)

• Italian: alla leggera, superficialmente (it), in maniera superficiale
• Polish: lekko (pl)
• Portuguese: levemente (pt), levianamente
• Russian: легко́ (ru) (lexkó), слегка́ (ru) (slexká)
• Slovak: ľahko
• Spanish: ligeramente (es)

References

• lightly at OneLook Dictionary Search
• lightly in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911