Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, relating to, or characteristic of men, especially when considered traditionally masculine, as in being courageous or direct.
- adjective Well-developed or toned in musculature.
- adverb In a manly manner.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Humane; charitable; hospitable.
- Possessing the proper characteristics of a man; independent in spirit or bearing; strong, brave, large-minded, etc.
- Pertaining to or becoming a man; not boyish or womanish; marked by or manifesting the quality of manhood; suitable for a man.
- Synonyms Manful, etc. (see
masculine ); honorable, high-minded. - In the manner of a man; manfully.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adverb In a manly manner; with the courage and fortitude of a manly man.
- adjective Having qualities becoming to a man; not childish or womanish; manlike, esp. brave, courageous, resolute, noble.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Having the
characteristics of aman .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective possessing qualities befitting a man
- adverb in a manful manner; with qualities thought to befit a man
- adjective characteristic of a man
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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He likes manly desserts, what I call manly dessert, meaning, you know, dessert-dessert.
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So too in the case of flattery we must observe and be on our guard against wastefulness being called liberality, and cowardliness prudence, and madness quick-wittedness, and meanness frugality, and the amorous man called social and affectionate, and the term manly applied to the passionate and vain man, and the term civil applied to the paltry and mean man.
Plutarch's Morals 46-120? Plutarch
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He must make up his mind to lay aside what he calls his manly instincts and personal independence, and resolve to submissively obey all order of his superiors without a murmur, even though they are not stated exactly in accordance with the rules of syntax, laid down by Lindley Murray.
The new man : twenty-nine years a slave, twenty-nine years a free man, 1895
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By registered post; and what I call a manly letter from Lord Harry.
Blind Love Wilkie Collins 1856
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It ain't what I call manly, -- not that longing after other folks 'money.
The Prime Minister Anthony Trollope 1848
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Now that's what I call manly, and you don't need sunglasses for that.
Anime Nano! 2008
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-- whether he should follow after that way of life to which you exhort me, and act what you call the manly part of speaking in the assembly, and cultivating rhetoric, and engaging in public affairs, according to the principles now in vogue; or whether he should pursue the life of philosophy; -- and in what the latter way differs from the former.
Gorgias 427? BC-347? BC Plato 1855
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They brought a certain manly swagger, a virility that dazzled the other two groups and appealed to their deep need for dominance and control.
Archive 2008-01-01 2008
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Unfortunately, or I guess fortunately (because the macho and manly is what women find attractive), men are macho and they aren't 'supposed' to feel those urges and soft feelings.
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As something of a London scholar I can assure you that the notion is as ludicrous as suggesting that the author of "White Fang" was a cross-dressing hermaphrodite who buried his sexual shame in manly exploits.
Essays 2007
bilby commented on the word manly
Wishypedia lists four places named Manly: one in USA, one in New Zealand, two in Australia.
Australia is clearly the Manliest country on earth.
October 8, 2009