stately means worthy of respect; dignified, regal. It carries an Arena rating of 1523, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, stately ranks #1,025 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,841 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #4,170 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #6,314 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
stately is pronounced /ˈsteɪtli/.
Why “stately” is a great word
Having a dignified, impressive, and grand manner or appearance. From Middle English *statly*, from *state* (meaning 'condition, dignity, pomp') + the adjectival suffix *-ly*. Unlike 'majestic,' which suggests awe-inspiring splendor on a sublime scale, or 'stiff,' which implies a rigid and unnatural formality, 'stately' denotes a composed and natural poise. It is the measured gait of a heron in a marsh, the deliberate unfolding of a handwritten letter on heavy paper, and the unhurried arc of a grandfather clock's pendulum—a performance of gravity so assured it seems to slow time itself, the bearing of something that knows its own worth without needing to announce it.
Etymology
From Middle English staately, staatly, stateli, statelie, stately, statelyche, statelye, statli, statly. Compare stour. By surface analysis, state + -ly (adjectival suffix).
adj
- Worthy of respect; dignified, regal.e.g.“Warwick's first glance had revealed the fact that the young woman was strikingly handsome, with a stately beauty seldom encountered.” — 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
- Deliberate, unhurried; dignified.e.g.“And much as they welcome his promise to repeal "don't ask, don't tell", they are dismayed by the stately pace and bungled tactics of his attempts to do so.” — 2010 October 14, “An Own Goal on Gay Rights”, in The Economist:
- Grand; impressive; imposing.e.g.“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree: / Where Alph, the sacred river, ran / Through caverns measureless to man / Down to a sunless sea.” — 1797, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Kubla Khan: Or A Vision in a Dream”, in Christabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep, London: […] John Murray, […], by William Bulmer and Co. […], published
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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