English
sely
Sely comes from Old English sǣliġ ‘blessed, fortunate’, from Proto-West Germanic *sālīg ‘happy’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sēliz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sēliz1‘happy, fortunate’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sāli2‘happiness, prosperity’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sālīg3‘happy’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sǣliġ3‘blessed, fortunate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sely3
- Englishearliest quotation 1842sely3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *sāli
- 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *sālīg
- 3 Wiktionary, English sely
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, 10, Lucas's Penny Library: “But the troubles of this "poor "sely innocent" were…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sēlizWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *sāli‘happy, fortunate’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sāliWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *sālīg‘happiness, prosperity’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sālīgWiktionary, English sely‘happy’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sǣliġWiktionary, English sely‘blessed, fortunate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500selyWiktionary, English sely
- Englishearliest quotation 1842selyWiktionary, English sely. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1842, 10, Lucas's Penny Library: “But the troubles of this "poor "sely innocent" were…”
Formed from seel + -y
Linked words
through Proto-West Germanic *sāli ‘happiness, prosperity’
through Old English sǣliġ ‘blessed, fortunate’
Today it means
adj —
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “sely”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *sāli, Proto-West Germanic *sālīg. 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-Germanic *sēliz / sely