LOWLY


Meaning of LOWLY in English

I. ˈlōlē, -li adverb

Etymology: Middle English, from low (IV) + -ly, adverb suffix

1. : in a lowly manner : humbly , meekly , modestly

bowed lowly before her

2. : in a low position, manner, or degree

affected rams are usually lowly fertile — Fertility of Sheep

rare records … lowly priced — advt

3. : in a low voice : not loudly

II. adjective

( -er/-est )

Etymology: Middle English, from low (IV) + -ly, adjective suffix

1.

a. : humble in manner or spirit : modest , moderate , meek

taught him to be lowly and reverent

b. : of or relating to a low social or economic rank

a man of lowly birth

they were too lowly to associate with me — G.B.Shaw

c. : low in the scale of biological or cultural evolution

a lowly society of the present day — Notes & Queries on Anthropology

accepted the possibility that lowly … animals might be generated spontaneously — S.F.Mason

d. : ranking low in some hierarchy

a lowly instructor in government — Fred Rodell

a lowly parish priest

e. : low in order of importance, value, or esteem

need not trouble himself with the lowly business of reading and writing if he had a good scribe — G.B.Jeffery

made from a lowly railroad spike — R-Mor-Plate

f. : not lofty or sublime : prosaic , commonplace

using great words on the lowlier subject, contrives to make them appropriate — A.T.Quiller-Couch

2. : low in position or growth : being relatively close to the ground

the starvation need of air and light allotted to the lowly growths — William Beebe

Synonyms: see humble

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.