stately

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Worthy of respect; dignified, regal.

   Warwick's first glance had revealed the fact that the young woman was strikingly handsome, with a stately beauty seldom encountered.

2. 2
   adj

   Deliberate, unhurried; dignified.

   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.

3. 3
   adj

   Grand; impressive; imposing.

   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.

4. 4
   adj

   refined or imposing in manner or appearance

5. 5
   adj

   impressive in appearance

6. 6
   adj

   of size and dignity suggestive of a statue

7. 7
   adv

   In a stately manner.

Etymology

From Middle English staately, staatly, stateli, statelie, stately, statelyche, statelye, statli, statly. Compare stour. By surface analysis, state + -ly (adjectival suffix).