Wordwyrt

blithely

/ˈblaɪθli/BLYTH-lee
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked
/ˈblaɪθli/BLYTH-lee

Meaningin a blithe way

Common meaning: cheerfully and without care

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Journey through time

  1. Old Englishblican‘to shine’sourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishblithesource
  3. Englishblithe‘cheerful and carefree’
  4. Englishformed in English from blitheblithely‘cheerfully and without care’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from blithe + -ly.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), BLITHE, p.67 · scan

Source words

  • blican Old English · source word “to shine”

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