Etymograph

English

goodly

Goodly comes from Old English gōdlīċ ‘good, goodly’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- ‘to join’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰedʰ-1‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gadanąvṛd.1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gōdaz1‘good’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gōdalīkaz2‘good, goodly’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gōdalīk2reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150gōdlīċ2‘good, goodly’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500goodly2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1596goodly2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English goodly
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto IX: “Her goodly thighs, whoſe glory did appear, / Like…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰedʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gadanąvṛd.Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkazreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gōdazWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz‘good’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gōdalīkazWiktionary, English goodly‘good, goodly’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gōdalīkWiktionary, English goodlyreconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150gōdlīċWiktionary, English goodly‘good, goodly’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500goodlyWiktionary, English goodly
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1596goodlyWiktionary, English goodly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto IX: “Her goodly thighs, whoſe glory did appear, / Like…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- ‘to join’

together, gather, gad, bettering, 4 more

through Proto-Germanic *gōdaz ‘good’

best, better, goodness, 3 more

Today it means

adj Good; pleasing in appearance; attractive; comely; graceful; pleasant; desirable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “goodly”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *gōdalīkaz. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- / goodly

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