## Examples
- The little café had a homely feel, with soft chairs and the smell of fresh bread.
- He was a rather homely man, but his warm smile won everyone over.

## Derived Forms
- homelily
- homeliness
- overhomely
- unhomely

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: homly
- Root: *hāmlīċ
- Root: *haimalīk

## Etymology
From Middle English homly, hoomly, hamely (“domestic, familiar, plain, unattractive”), from Old English *hāmlīċ (“of the home, domestic”), from Proto-West Germanic *haimalīk (“of or characteristic of home”), equivalent to home + -ly. Cognate with Scots hamely (“familiar, personal, private”), West Frisian heimelik, Dutch heimelijk (“secret, secretive, clandestine”), German heimlich (“secret, secretive, clandestine, undercover”), Danish hemmelig (“secret”), Swedish hemlig (“secret, concealed, privy, covert”), Faroese heimligur (“homelike, homey”), Icelandic heimlegur (“homely; worldly”).

## AI Etymology
Homely is from Middle English homly, hoomly, hamely (“domestic, familiar, plain, unattractive”), from Old English *hāmlīċ (“of the home, domestic”), from Proto-West Germanic *haimalīk (“of or characteristic of home”), equivalent to home + -ly. Cognate with Scots hamely (“familiar, personal, private”), West Frisian heimelik, Dutch heimelijk (“secret, secretive, clandestine”), German heimlich (“secret, secretive, clandestine, undercover”), Danish hemmelig (“secret”), Swedish hemlig (“secret, concealed, privy, covert”), Faroese heimligur (“homelike, homey”), Icelandic heimlegur (“homely; worldly”). In present-day use, it can mean simple, comfortable, and reminding you of home (British usage), or plain and not attractive in appearance (American usage). Derived formations include homelily, homeliness, overhomely, and unhomely.

## Topics
- Senses & Perception
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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