Etymograph

English

sightly

Sightly comes from Middle English sightlye.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sightlye1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1692sightly1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English sightly
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name : “Many brave, sightly horses.”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sightlyeWiktionary, English sightly
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1692sightlyWiktionary, English sightly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name : “Many brave, sightly horses.”

Formed from sight + -ly

Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to see’

…

Proto-West Germanic *sehwan ‘to see’

Proto-West Germanic *sihti ‘seeing’

Old English sihþ ‘something seen’

Middle English sighte

English sight

Every English word from Middle English sightlye

Today it means

adj Attractive, pleasing to the eye; affording gratification to the sense of sight; aesthetically pleasing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sightly”. 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 / Middle English sightlye / sightly

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