sprightly
Part of speech: adj
adv
Morphological type: derivation
Etymology: From spright + -ly (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘behaving like, having the nature of’). Spright is an obsolete variant of sprite (“a shade, spirit; elf, fairy, goblin; apparition, ghost”), from Middle English sprit (“principle of life; soul, especially at the point of death; immaterial being (angel, demon, apparition, ghost, etc.); divine inspiration; Holy Spirit; the mind, intellect, reason; mental faculties, senses; power of prophecy; character, disposition; courage, resolution; mood, state of mind; human will; breath; (alchemy) volatile substance”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman esprite, esprit and Middle French esprit, variants of Anglo-Norman, Middle French, Old French espirit, esperit (“spirit”), from Latin spīritus (“air; breath; breathing; ghost, spirit”), from spīrō (“to breathe; to breathe out, exhale”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow; to breathe”)) + -tus (“suffix forming verbal nouns from verbs”).
Base: spright
Affixes: -ly
Inflected forms:
form: sprightlier
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: sprightliest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: sprightlie
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: spritely
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: sprightlier
pos: adv
tags: comparative
form: sprightliest
pos: adv
tags: superlative
Senses:
gloss: Animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited.
pos: adj
examples: Next vnto lumpish Saturn, sprightlie Iove / Moves in his orbe.
And ſhou’d Apollo novv deſcend and vvrite, / In Vertue’s Praiſe ’tvvou’d never paſs for Wit. / The Bookſeller perhaps vvou’d ſay, / ’Tvvas vvell: / But ’Tvvou’d not hit the Times, ’Tvvou’d never Sell: / Unleſs a Spice of Levvdneſs cou’d appear, / The ſprightly part vvou’d ſtill be vvanting there. / […] / ’Tis Love and Honour muſt enrich our Verſe, / The Modern Terms, our VVhoring to rehearſe. / The ſprightly part attends the God of VVine, / The Drunken Stile muſt blaze in every Line.
[B]y the Path-way green, / A ſprightlie Troupe ſtill onward heedleſſe ſped, / In Chace of Butterflies alert and keen; / Honours, and Wealth, and Powre, their Butterflies I ween.
The Bard now tries a ſprightlier ſound, / When all the feather'd race around / Perceive the varied ſtrains; / The ſoaring lark the note purſues; / The timorous dove around him cooes, / And Philomel complains.
gloss: Of a person: full of life and vigour, especially with a light and springy step.
pos: adj
examples: Shall our example ſloth create, / And make our Sons degenerate? / Our ſprightly youth uſeleſs in War become, / And ſleep in peace and ſlavery at home.
This youth was ance a sprightlie boy / As ever lived in Linne.
Methinkes it was aboutt this Date that a ſore Afflicſhon befelle my deare and formerlie merrie Siſter, the Ladye Herbert, whom my Reder will beſte recollecte as my Ladye Mother's beſte beloved Childe, the happie, ſprightlie Katie of oure School-den Daies.
gloss: Of a person: full of life and vigour, especially with a light and springy step.
pos: adj
gloss: Of or relating to a sprite; ghostly, spectral.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
rare
examples: […] As I ſlept, me thought / Great Iupiter vpon his Eagle back'd / Appear'd to me, with other ſprightly ſhewes / Of mine owne Kindred.
gloss: In a lively and vigorous way; sprightlily.
pos: adv
Related words: sprightful
sprightless
sprightness
Derived words: spright
sprightle
sprightliness
unsprightly
sprightlily
Translations:
lang: Arabic
word: دَجِر
roman: dajir
lang: Bulgarian
word: жив
roman: živ
lang: Bulgarian
word: енергичен
roman: energičen
lang: Czech
word: čilý
lang: Czech
word: čiperný
lang: French
word: vif
lang: Irish
word: beoga
lang: Irish
word: breabhsánta
lang: Irish
word: éirimiúil
lang: Italian
word: vivace
lang: Kyrgyz
word: тың
roman: tıŋ
lang: Māori
word: ngangahu
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: živahan
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: čio
lang: Spanish
word: vigoroso
lang: Ottoman Turkish
word: دینج
roman: dinc