▪ I. unˈkindly, a.
[repr. OE. unᵹecyndelic, or in later use f. un-1 7 + kindly a.]
† 1. a. Morally unnatural; unnaturally wicked or vile. Obs.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 116 Vor hondlunge, oðer eni velunge bitweone mon & ancre is..unkundelich þincg. a 1300 Cursor M. 27966 Vnkindli sin and sodomite, Austin cals al suilk delite. 1418 26 Pol. Poems xiv. 84 Vnkyndely synne and shameles haunted. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 102 The deuell slow all, for as moche as they vsed unkindely werke. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. x. 9 Their owne mother..gan abhorre her broods vnkindly crime. 1614 Sylvester Little Bartas 905 Besides th' unkindly slaughter Of his owne Selfe, by his owne Sons soon after. |
† b. Unnatural in respect of relations or dealings with others. Obs.
| 1456–70 in Acta Parlt. Scotl. (1875) XII. 27/1 Thynkand it onkyndle tyll thole ane nominatioun of lardschipe of sic ane man. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. 642 After this vnkyndly warre had duryd by the space of vi. monethes. 1591 Troub. Raigne K. John (1611) 68 Vnkindly rage, more rough than northern wind, To clip the beautie of so sweete a flower! 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas, Sonn. Late Peace iv, War's unkindly quarrels. 1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler 15 How unseasonable and unkindely it is, to interturbe the State and Church with these Amalekitish onsets. |
† 2. Unnatural in respect of physical qualities or actions. Obs.
| a 1300 in E.E.P. (1862) 10/104 Þe þing þat bodi no flesse naþ non..vnkundlich þing ded sal don. c 1375 Cursor M. 26253 (Fairf.), Þe man þat mengis wiþ vnkindeli best his flesshe luste to fulfille. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 264 Thilke unkendeli peines Thurgh whiche Envie is fyred ay. a 1500 Flower & Leaf 413 Salades, which they made hem ete, For to refresh their greet unkindly hete. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions 324 Lest therby the vnkindlie couplings against kinde, passe also at lengthe vnto men. 1611 J. Guillim Heraldry iii. xxv. 179 The shape of the Leopard bewraieth his vnkindly birth. 1639 T. de Grey Expert Farrier ii. xxi. (1656) 628 Unkindly and unnatural heats given him by most violent and intemperate riding. |
b. Of weather, soil, etc.: Unnaturally bleak or cold; unfavourable to growth or comfort, inclement.
| 14.. in Tundale's Vis. (1843) 154 Mych of oure welth hase wastud awey With grete darthe..And unkyndle wedurs. 1535 W. Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) III. 43 In..Hungar and cald, and wnkyndlie distres. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Jan. 26 My life bloud friesing with vnkindly cold. 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 332 We had not a more unkindly summer, for many yeeres, in respect of extraordinary cold. a 1684 Leighton Wks. (1835) I. 109 A tender plant in a strange unkindly soil. 1763 Mills Pract. Husb. I. 188 The land continued unkindly and sour. 1775 Phil. Trans. LXVI. 282 The summers are often so unkindly, that their wheat is blighted while in ear. 1850 Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. iii. (1857) 36* The unkindly climate of their birth. a 1864 Hawthorne Amer. Note-bks. (1868) I. 282 Besides the bleak, unkindly air. |
c. Not answering to its (or their) proper kind; not properly conditioned, developed, or thriving. Now dial. or arch.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 8523 Ho was vnkyndly to knaw of hir kyd frendis, So disfigurt of face & febill of hew. 1587 Golding De Mornay xvii. 313 In vs only there is such an vnkindly and Bastardly Nature, that [etc.]. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 225 Kine, Buls, and Oxen are not to be despised as unkindly, although they looke but illfavouredly. 1616 Breton Invective agst. Treason Wks. (Grosart) I. 4/1 [To] make theyr bread, of an vnkindly Branne; which seeming Wheate, is but a Hellish weede, sown by the Devill. 1790 Trans. Soc. Arts VIII. 32 [These] Peas..ripen later, and become so unkindly that the pods..never fill. c 1813 Mrs. Sherwood Stories Ch. Catech. xxxiv. 357 Lopping off..a dead leaf, or unkindly branch. 1887–8 in Cheshire and Somerset glossaries (applied to plants or animals). |
† d. Prejudicial to health; not developing in a natural healthy manner. Obs.
| a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Hist. Jas. V, Wks. (1711) 114 He was troubled by an unkindly Medicine. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 1050 Grosser sleep Bred of unkindly fumes. 1797 Underwood Disorders Childhood II. 117 An oozing of blood from the part, after an unkindly separation of the cord. 1822–7 Good Study Med. (1829) IV. 99 The exciting causes [of madness]..are..unkindly child-bed [etc.]. Ibid. V. 583 It [sc. opium] proved a cordial to him through the whole of this tedious affection, without a single unkindly concomitant. |
† 3. Not of the same kind; strange. Obs.
| 1560 Rolland Seven Sages 23 Vnkyndlie Captanes ouir⁓thrawis And commoun welth doun drawis. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 765 Th' infamous Bird that layes His Bastard Egges within the nests of other, To have them hatcht by an unkindely Mother. |
† 4. a. Lacking natural affection. b. Cruel, malicious. Obs.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 26 To see th' vnkindly Impes..Deuoure their dam. 1591 ― Tears Muses 15 Her loued Twinnes,..whom her vnkindly foes The fatall Sisters, did for spight destroy. |
5. Devoid of kindness; unkind.
| 1805–6 Cary Dante, Inf. xxi. 97, I to my leader's side adhered, mine eyes..bent On their unkindly visage. 1827 Scott Surg. Dau. vii, He was conscious of unkindly, if not hostile feelings towards his old companion. 1862 Lytton Str. Story 132 That gentle heart could not bear one unkindlier shade between itself and what it loved. |
▪ II. unˈkindly, adv.
[repr. OE. unᵹecyndel{iacu}ce, or in later use f. un-1 11 + kindly adv.]
† 1. a. With unnatural immorality or impropriety. Obs.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 50 Ne of tollinde lokunges, ne lates, þæt summe,..weilawei! unkundeliche makieð. a 1300 Cursor M. 28495 Wit womman seke vmquile haue i And vnkyndeli don licheri. c 1386 Chaucer Pard. T. 485 Lo how þat dronken loth vnkyndely Lay by his doughtres two vnwityngly. c 1400 Destr. Troy 13820 Now full hard..is þi hegh lust, Þat þou couetus vnkyndly to couple with me. 1579 [see unkingly adv.]. 1602 Warner Alb. Eng. xiii. lxxvi. 315 Vnkindly though Nature it is defaced so in some, As that by often sinning Sinne an habette doth become. |
† b. With unnatural enmity, harshness, or cruelty. Obs.
| c 1300 Beket (Percy Soc.) 1540 The Kyng..sende him word that him thoȝte..That hi wolde him so moche misdo uncundeliche and wouȝ. 1535 Coverdale 2 Macc. xv. 2 O do not so cruelly and vnkyndly [1611 barbarously], but halowe y⊇ Sabbath daye. 1547 J. Harrison Exhort. Scottes h j b, That you..should thus vnkindly, vnnaturally, and vnchristenly bathe youre swoordes in eche others blode. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. iv. Handy-crafts 7 Envious Cain His (better) Brother doth vnkindly brain. 1605 Ibid. iii. iv. Captains 833 Lo there, another valiant Champion..His onely Daughter doth unkindly kill. |
† c. Contrary to right feeling or conduct; improperly; ungratefully. Obs.
| 1380 Lay Folk's Catech. (L.) 952 [To] be euer sory..for he haþ greuyd god so vnkendely. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 264 Vnkyndely þow, conscience, consailedest hym þennes, To lete so hus lordshup for a lytel moneye. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 365/2 On-kyndely yn herte, ingratanter, acaride. 1470–1 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 233/1 Unnaturelly, unkyndly and truly entendyng his destruccion. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 65 Lat nocht my hart vnkyndlie depart, From the rycht lufe of thy mercie. 1588 Shakes. Titus A. v. iii. 104 Lastly, [I was] my selfe vnkindly banished. |
† 2. Unsuitably. Obs. rare.
| c 1300 Havelok 1250 Goldeborw.. wende she were bi-swike, Þat she were yeuen un-kyndelike. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. x. 177 Summe..For Couetise of Catel vnkuyndeliche beoþ maried. |
† b. Contrary to the usual course of nature; at variance with natural conditions. Obs.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 292 Unkindeliche he was transformed, That he which erst a man was formed Into a womman was forschape. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 3530 But ye wolden..Tourne vnkyndely my wyn In-to blood, folk for to drynke. 1541 R. Copland Gaylen's Terap. 2 B j, There must be had delyberacyon, to knowe yf all the party dyscoloured and hardened vnkyndly ought to be cut. 1615 W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 8 Who did euer know a tree so vnkindly splat, come to age? 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 456 All th' unaccomplisht works of Natures hand, Abortive, monstrous, or unkindly mixt,..fleet hither. 1703 Rowe Fair Penit. i. i, You mourn unkindly by your self, And rob me of my Partnership of Sadness. 1766 Compl. Farmer s.v. Malt, The malt..appears shrivelled, and often is unkindly hard. |
c. Badly, unsuccessfully.
| 1763 Mills Pract. Husb. III. 128 Kiln-drying is apt to make wheat grind unkindly. 1811 Self Instructor 516 Umber is..very greasy, and mixes unkindly with water⁓colours. 1887 Daily News 21 July 2/4 Fanfare remained a staunch favourite to the end. He, however, ran very unkindly. |
3. In an unkind or unkindly manner; with marked want of kindness.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame i. 295 How he betrayed hir allas, And lefte hir ful vnkyndely. 14.. Sir Beues (C.) 1448 That he tolde me not, when he went, Iwysse, he dud onkyndely, verament. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xvii. 397 The whiche Reynawde kepeth..for his prysoner not vnkyndely. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 183 But why vnkindly didst thou leaue me so? 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 114 Vnkindly to cast him off that had so honorably vsed him in like extremitie. 1695 Ld. Preston Boeth. ii. 55 She hath looked unkindly upon thee. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ., Snuff-box, I treated him most unkindly; and from no provocations. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth x, ‘You will not deal so unkindly with us, cousin,’ replied the gentle Monarch. 1889 B. Whitby Awakening Mary Fenwick II. 45 Don't haul me over the coals so unkindly. |
| Comb. 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. ii. Fathers 480 Among them all..you shall not finde Such an example, where (unkindly-kinde) Father and Son so mutually agree. a 1699 J. Beaumont Psyche xii. v, Nor could unkindly-courteous He resist The huging of his Spouse's seeming Friend. |
4. With dissatisfaction or resentment.
Freq. in the phrase to take (..) unkindly.
| 1562 Gresham in Burgon Life (1839) I. 448 Assewring yow, I doo take it very unkindelye at your handes. 1607 Shakes. Timon iii. vi. 39, I hope it remaines not vnkindely with your Lordship, that I return'd you an empty Messenger. 1635 Argt. Pastoral of Florimene 6 Florimene desires Dorine not to take it unkindly, if [etc.]. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 91 Nothing to be had but for ready money; which our men took so unkindly,..that [etc.]. 1771 Junius Lett. l. (1788) 270 The only letter I ever addressed to the King was..unkindly received. |