seelie

Scots

Alternative forms

• sealy
• seely
• seilie
• seily

Etymology

from Middle English sely, from Old English sǣliġ (“blessed, fortunate”), (also gesǣliġ (“happy, prosperous, blessed, fortunate”)), from Proto-Germanic *sēlīgaz (“happy”), equivalent to seil +‎ -ie. Cognate with English sely.

Adjective

seelie (comparative mair seelie, superlative maist seelie)

1. blessed, holy
2. fortunate, lucky, prosperous
3. happy
4. innocent
5. helpless

Derived terms

• seelie court (“the fairy court”)
• seelie wicht (“fairy”)

Further reading

• “seelie” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.