lightly B1 Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈlaɪtli/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like rightly /l/ vs /ɹ/ Freq #6752 Meanings 1 adv With little weight or force; gently. She kissed the baby lightly on the forehead. 2 adv To a small degree; only a little. My speech is only lightly accented. 3 adv Without treating something as serious or important. As a teacher, I don't take rudeness lightly. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adv · with little weight or... gentlysoftly Etymology AI details From Middle English lyghtly, liȝtliche, lihtliche, from Old English lēohtlīċe, equivalent to light + -ly. lyghtly Middle English lēohtlīċe Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # lightly **Type:** Word **Level:** B1 **Part of speech:** adv **IPA (US):** /ˈlaɪtli/ **Frequency rank:** 6752 ## Meanings 1. With little weight or force; gently. 2. To a small degree; only a little. 3. Without treating something as serious or important. ## Examples - She kissed the baby lightly on the forehead. - My speech is only lightly accented. - As a teacher, I don't take rudeness lightly. ## Roots and Affixes - Root: lyghtly - Root: lēohtlīċe ## Etymology From Middle English lyghtly, liȝtliche, lihtliche, from Old English lēohtlīċe, equivalent to light + -ly. ## AI Etymology Lightly comes from Middle English lyghtly, liȝtliche, lihtliche, from Old English lēohtlīċe, equivalent to light + -ly. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adverbial form is built from the named base and affix. ## Topics - Describing Qualities markdown