Godly

How to spell godly

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce godly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does godly mean?

1. adjectiveDevoutly religious; pious and morally upright in keeping with religious belief.

Godly in a sentence

• The congregation remembered her as a quiet, godly woman who gave generously.

• He tried to lead a godly life, attending services and helping his neighbours.

Where does godly come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word godly is a native English formation, built from the Old English noun 'god', meaning a deity or the supreme being, and the suffix '-lic' (modern '-ly'), which originally meant 'having the body or form of' and broadened into a general way of forming adjectives of quality. So godly literally meant 'having the qualities of God', that is, devout, pious, or conforming to religious law. The word appears in late Old English and Middle English and gained wide currency through the religious writing of the Reformation, when 'godly' became a favourite term for a sincere, disciplined believer. Its cousin 'goodly' looks and sounds similar but comes from 'good' rather than 'god', and the two have always drifted close together, which is the main spelling trap: godly keeps a single 'o', not the double 'o' of good.

How the word is built

• god (deity, from Old English god)
• -ly (adjective suffix meaning 'having the qualities of')