lovely
part of speech
adjective (lovely, lovelier, loveliest)
meaning for a pupil
1) Very nice, pleasant or beautiful. tree →
2) Kind and friendly: «she's a lovely person». tree →
3) (UK, informal) Used to say thank you or «great»: «Lovely, thanks!». tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: It means beautiful and dear. A psalmist calls God's tabernacles lovely. Interpretation: Tradition reads "lovely tabernacles" as the longing of Israel for God's house. In the Song of Songs, "altogether lovely" is the bride's praise for God. In the primary lessons: In everyday life, people say «lovely» to praise food, weather, places and people; very common in the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ. In stories it describes beautiful things. Manners: «That's lovely, thank you» is a polite reply. Phrases: «lovely to see you», «a lovely day», «lovely and warm».
examples
- How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! (Writings PSA.84.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. (Writings SNG.5.16, JPS 1917) tree →
- A lovely hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; with her love be thou ravished always. (Writings PRO.5.19, JPS 1917) tree →
- What a lovely day for a picnic! tree →
- Thank you for the lovely present. tree →
- Our new neighbour is a lovely lady. tree →
- The bath was lovely and warm. tree →
- «Here's your tea.» «Lovely, thanks!» tree →
- It was lovely to see Grandma again. tree →
- The garden looks lovely in spring. tree →
- Mignon grew more lovely every day. tree →
note
It ends in «-ly» but it is an adjective, not an adverb: «a lovely song». You cannot say «she sings lovely»; say «she sings beautifully». Comparatives: lovelier, loveliest.
In the corpora
- How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
- A lovely hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; with her love be thou ravished always.
- His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely.
- And sometimes the gossip is lovely, like a big kind tip for a waitress.
- A "new friend" who seems lovely and asks for photos is showing a big warning sign, whoever or whatever is typing.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «lovely» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.