deadly

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈdɛdli/ UK /ˈdɛdli/ See IPA manual

Freq #3937

Meanings

1

adj
Able to cause death.

The snake's bite can be deadly without quick treatment.
2

adj
Extremely accurate and effective.

The striker has a deadly aim in front of goal.
3

adj
Showing strong hatred and a wish to destroy.

The two families had been deadly enemies for years.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · able to cause death. lethal

Word family

Forms deadlierdeadliest

Derived forms deadlihooddeadlilydeadlinessfail-deadlynondeadlyundeadly

Related forms dead

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

deadly weapon
a weapon capable of causing death

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (2)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English dedly, dedlych, dedlich, from Old English dēadlīċ (adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *dauþalīk, from Proto-Germanic *dauþalīkaz (“deadly”, literally “deathly”). By surface analysis, dead + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian dodelk (“deadly”), West Frisian deadlik (“deadly”), Dutch dodelijk (“deadly”), German tödlich (“deadly”), Swedish dödlig (“deadly, fatal, mortal”), Icelandic dauðlegur (“mortal”). The adverb is from Middle English dedliche, from Old English dēadlīċe (adverb), from the adjective.

dedly Middle English dēadlīċ Old English *dauþalīk Proto-West Germanic *dauþalīkaz Proto-Germanic dedliche Middle English dēadlīċe Old English

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Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# deadly

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈdɛdli/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdɛdli/
**Frequency rank:** 3937

## Meanings
1. Able to cause death.
2. Extremely accurate and effective.
3. Showing strong hatred and a wish to destroy.

## Examples
- The snake's bite can be deadly without quick treatment.
- The striker has a deadly aim in front of goal.
- The two families had been deadly enemies for years.

## Derived Forms
- deadlihood
- deadlily
- deadliness
- fail-deadly
- nondeadly
- undeadly

## Related Forms
- dead

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dedly
- Root: dēadlīċ
- Root: *dauþalīk
- Root: *dauþalīkaz
- Root: dedliche
- Root: dēadlīċe

## Etymology
From Middle English dedly, dedlych, dedlich, from Old English dēadlīċ (adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *dauþalīk, from Proto-Germanic *dauþalīkaz (“deadly”, literally “deathly”). By surface analysis, dead + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian dodelk (“deadly”), West Frisian deadlik (“deadly”), Dutch dodelijk (“deadly”), German tödlich (“deadly”), Swedish dödlig (“deadly, fatal, mortal”), Icelandic dauðlegur (“mortal”). The adverb is from Middle English dedliche, from Old English dēadlīċe (adverb), from the adjective.

## AI Etymology
deadly comes from Middle English dedly, dedlych, dedlich, from Old English dēadlīċ (adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *dauþalīk, from Proto-Germanic *dauþalīkaz (“deadly”, literally “deathly”). By surface analysis, dead + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian dodelk (“deadly”), West Frisian deadlik (“deadly”), Dutch dodelijk (“deadly”), German tödlich (“deadly”), Swedish dödlig (“deadly, fatal, mortal”), Icelandic dauðlegur (“mortal”). The adverb is from Middle English dedliche, from Old English dēadlīċe (adverb), from the adjective. Current senses include Able to cause death and Extremely accurate and effective. English relatives and later formations include deadlihood, deadlily, deadliness, dead.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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