I. -lē, -li adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English hoomly, homly, from hoom, hom home + -ly (adjective suffix) — more at home
1. : homey
2.
a. : established on a friendly footing : intimate — often used with with
asked them to … dinner at our house and they came and were homely with us — Times Literary Supplement
b. : frequently encountered : commonplace , familiar
translates the issue into homely terms and makes the point beyond all doubt — Robert Bendiner
an English garden full of the old homely plants — David Ewen
3. : of a sympathetic character : kindly
nature, the homely nurse … has her own ways of comforting — G.G.Coulton
4.
a. : natural and unaffected : simple
homely courtesy
a pastorale written in homely muted prose about life on a farm — New Yorker
b. : free from ornament or complexity : plain
homely food
shrines that are simple, quaint, homely and common — J.C.Powys
so many bizarre forms of dinosaur that these are almost homely by comparison — W.E.Swinton
c. : free from ambiguity : direct
homely vigor of expression
d. : lacking in elegance or sophistication
a homely audience drawn from the surrounding farms
5. : lacking in physical beauty or proportion : plain-featured : unattractive
an awkward, lanky giant whose homely countenance was surmounted by a shock of rough black hair — Allan Nevins & H.S.Commager
make possible retirement of at least two or three of the buildings … downright homely to behold B.F.Wright
Synonyms: see plain
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English hoomly, homly, from hoom, hom + -ly (adverb suffix)
obsolete : in a homely way : familiarly , kindly : rudely