manly

See also: Manly

English

Etymology

From Middle English manly, manli, manlich, from Old English *manlīċ, *mannlīċ (suggested by adverb manlīċe, mannlīċe (“in a manly way; stately”)), from Proto-Germanic *mannlīkaz (“manly”), equivalent to man +‎ -ly. Cognate with Old High German manlīh (“manly”) (German männlich), Dutch mannelijk, Old Norse mannligr (“human”) (Danish mandlig, Swedish manlig).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmænli/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Adjective

manly (comparative manlier, superlative manliest)

1. Having the characteristics of a man.
2. Having qualities befitting a man; courageous, resolute, noble.
   • c. 1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iii]:

     Let's briefly put on manly readiness.

   • 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis; John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fifteenth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: Printed for Jacob Tonson […], OCLC 80026745:

     Serene and manly, harden'd to sustain / The load of life.

   • 2001, Thomas W. Smith, Revaluing Ethics: Aristotle's Dialectical Pedagogy (page 86)

     Without a successful defense of one's city, none of the other virtues would be possible; manly courage seems to be a precondition for anything else worth achieving in life.

Antonyms

• womanly

Derived terms

• manliness

Translations

having the characteristics of a man

• Arabic: رُجُولِيّ‎ (rujūliyy)
• Armenian: առնական (hy) (aṙnakan)
• Bulgarian: мъжки (bg) (mǎžki)
• Catalan: viril
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 男子氣 (zh), 男子气 (zh) (nánzǐqì)

• Czech: mužný
• Danish: mandlig (da)
• Dutch: mannelijk (nl)
• Finnish: miehekäs (fi)
• French: viril (fr)
• Georgian: კაცური (ḳacuri), მამაკაცური (mamaḳacuri), ვაჟკაცური (važḳacuri)
• German: männlich (de)
• Greek: αντρίκειος (el) (antríkeios), αρρενωπός (el) m (arrenopós), ανδροπρεπής (el) (androprepís)

  Ancient: ἀνδρώδης (andrṓdēs)

• Hebrew: גַּבְרִי‎ (he) (gavri)
• Hungarian: férfias (hu)
• Indonesian: jantan (id)
• Irish: fearúil
• Japanese: 男らしい (おとこらしい, otokorashii)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: پیاوانە‎ (pyawane)

• Latin: masculus
• Lithuanian: výriškas (lt)
• Maori: whakatāne
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mannlig (no)

  Nynorsk: mannleg

• Occitan: masculin (oc)
• Old English: werlic
• Pashto: نر‎ (ps) (nër), نارينه‎ (ps) (nâriná)
• Persian: مردانه‎ (fa) (mardâne)
• Polish: męski (pl), mężny (pl) (also: courageous)
• Portuguese: varonil (pt), viril (pt)
• Romanian: masculin (ro), bărbătesc (ro), viril (ro), bărbătos (ro)
• Russian: му́жественный (ru) (múžestvennyj) (also: courageous), мужеподо́бный (ru) (mužepodóbnyj) (manlike), мужско́й (ru) (mužskój) (masculine)
• Samogitian: vīrėšks
• Sanskrit: वृषन् (sa) (vṛṣan)
• Scottish Gaelic: fearail, duineil, tapaidh
• Spanish: varonil (es)
• Swedish: manlig (sv)
• Turkish: erkeksi (tr)
• Yiddish: מענלעך‎ (menlekh)

Having the qualities of a man such as courage

• Bulgarian: мъжествен (bg) (mǎžestven)
• Danish: mandig
• Finnish: miehekäs (fi)
• Irish: fearúil
• Latin: virilis (la)
• Maori: taitoa

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mandig (no)

• Romanian: bărbătos (ro)
• Slovak: mužný
• Spanish: viril (es) m or f

Anagrams

• Lyman, Lynam