MEANING OF "GRADELY."

(Vol. ii., p. 133.)

For the origin of this word, A.W.H. may refer to Brocket's Glossary of North Country Words, where he will find—

"Gradely, decently, orderly. Sax. grad, grade, ordo. Rather, Mr. Turner says, from Sax. gradlie upright; gradely in Lanc., he observes, is an adjective simplifying everything respectable. The Lancashire people say, our canny is nothing to it."

The word itself is very familiar to me, as I have often received a scolding for some boyish, and therefore not very wise or orderly prank, in these terns:—"One would think you were not altogether gradely," or, as it was sometimes varied into, "You would make one believe you were not right in your head;" meaning, "One would think you had not common sense."

H. EASTWOOD.

Ecclesfield.

Gradely.—This word is not only used in Yorkshire, but also very much in Lancashire, and the rest of the north of England. I have always understood it to mean "good," "jolly," "out and out." Its primary meaning is "orderly, decently." (See Richardson's Dictionary.) The French have grade; It. and Sp., grado; Lat. gradus.

AREDJID KOOEZ.

Gradely.—This word, in use in Lancashire and Yorkshire, means grey-headedly, and denotes such wisdom as should belong to old age. A child is admonished to do a thing gradely, i.e. with the care and caution of a person of experience.

E.H.

Gradely.—In Webster's and also in Richardson's Dictionaries it is defined, "orderly, decently." It is a word in common use in Lancashire and Yorkshire, and also Cheshire. A farmer will tell his men to do a thing gradely, that is, "properly, well."

G.W.N.

Gradely.—In Carr's Craven Dialect appears "Gradely, decently." It is also used as an adjective, "decent, worthy, respectable."

2. Tolerably well, "How isto?" "Gradely." Fr. Gré, "satisfaction"; à mon gré.

S.N.

Gradely.—Holloway[[3]] derives gradely from the Anglo-Saxon Grade, a step, order, and defines its meaning, "decently." He, however, fixes its paternity in the neighbouring county of York.

In Collier's edition of Tim Bobbin it is spelt greadly, and means "well, right, handsomely."

"I connaw tell the greadly, boh I think its to tell fok by."—p. 42.

"So I seete on restut meh, on drank meh pint o ele; boh as I'r naw greadly sleekt, I cawd for another," &c.—p. 45.

"For if sitch things must be done greadly on os teh aught to bee," &c.—p. 59.

Mr. Halliwell[[4]] defined it, "decently, orderly, moderately," and gives a recent illustration of its use in a letter addressed to Lord John Russell, and distributed in the Manchester Free Trade Procession. It is dated from Bury, and the writer says to his lordship,—

"Dunnot be fyert, mon, but rapt eawt wi awt uts reef, un us Berry foke'll elp yo as ard as we kon. Wayn helps Robdin, un wayn elp yo, if yoan set obeawt yur work gradely."

Gradely.—I think this word is very nearly confined to Lancashire. It is used both as an adjective and adverb. As an adjective, it expresses only a moderate degree of approbation or satisfaction; as an adverb, its general force is much greater. Thus, used adjectively in such phrases as "a gradely man," "a gradely crop," &c., it is synonymous with "decent." In answer to the question, "How d'ye do?" it means, "Pretty well," "Tolerable, thank you."

Adverbially it is (1.) sometimes used in sense closely akin to that of the adjective. Thus in "Behave yourself gradely," it means "properly, decently." But (2.) most frequently it is precisely equivalent to "very;" as in the expressions "A gradely fine day," "a gradely good man"—which last is a term of praise by no means applicable to the mere gradely man, or, as such a one is most commonly described, a "gradely sort of man."

Though one might have preferred a Saxon origin for it, yet in default of such it seems most natural to connect it with the Latin gradus, especially as the word grade, from which it is immediately formed, has a handy English look about it, that would soon naturalise it amongst us. Gradely

then would mean "orderly, regular, according to degree."

The difference in intensity of meaning between the adjective and the adverb seems analogous to that between the adjectives proper, regular, &c., and the same words when used in the vulgar way as adverbs.

G.P.

Footnote 3:[(return)]

Dictionary of Provincialisms.

Dictionary of Provincial Words.