gaily C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈɡeɪli/ UK /ˈɡeɪli/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adv in a cheerful or merry manner; brightly The children skipped gaily down the lane singing songs. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adv · in a cheerful or merry... cheerfullymerrilybrightlyjoyfullyblithelyhappily ↔ Opposites sadlygloomilydrearily Word family Related forms gay Etymology AI details From 'gay' (from Old French 'gai' 'joyful, merry', of Germanic origin) plus the adverbial suffix '-ly'. gai Old French View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # gaily **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adv **IPA (US):** /ˈɡeɪli/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈɡeɪli/ ## Meanings 1. in a cheerful or merry manner; brightly ## Examples - The children skipped gaily down the lane singing songs. ## Synonyms - cheerfully - merrily - brightly - joyfully - blithely - happily ## Antonyms - sadly - gloomily - drearily ## Related Forms - gay ## Roots and Affixes - Root: gai ## Etymology From 'gay' (from Old French 'gai' 'joyful, merry', of Germanic origin) plus the adverbial suffix '-ly'. ## AI Etymology Gaily comes from 'gay' (from Old French 'gai' 'joyful, merry', of Germanic origin) plus the adverbial suffix '-ly'. The etymological trail includes Old French gai. As an adverb, gaily means in a cheerful or merry manner; brightly. The same family is visible in related forms such as gay. The analysis is partly morphological, with the modern form built from the elements named in the history. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown