▪ I. kindly, a.
(ˈkaɪndlɪ)
Forms: see kind.
[OE. ᵹecyndel{iacu}c, f. ᵹecynde, kind + -l{iacu}c, -ly1.]
I. Pertaining to nature or birth.
† 1. Natural, in various senses. Obs. a. That is, exists or takes place according to natural laws; consonant or congruent with nature; natural, as opposed to artificial; = kind a. 1 a.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §1 Hwy ne maᵹon ᵹe ᵹebidon ᵹecyndelices deaðes. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 90 Swa þæt þæt blod ne mæᵹ hys ᵹecyndelican ryne habban. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 964 Hit is aȝein riht, and aȝein leaue of euch cundelich lahe. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1686 Bodily ded, þat is kyndely, Es twynyng betwene þe saule and þe body. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) iii. 10 Þai say also þat fornicacion es na dedly bot a kyndely thing. Ibid. xviii. 82 Simulacres er ymages made to þe liknes of sum thing þat es kyndely. 1496 Dives & Paup. (W. de W.) i. xlvii. 88/2 It is a kyndly thynge in somer tyme to thondre. a 1547 Surrey æneid iv. 929 Neither by lot of destiny Nor yet by kindly death she perished. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 130 The whole estate of kindly hunting consisteth principally in these two points, in chasing the beast that is in hunting, or in taking the bird that is in fowling. |
† b. Implanted by nature; innate; inherent in the nature of a person or thing; = kind a. 1 b.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 7 Seo ᵹecyndelice hætu..ᵹestilleþ on þe. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 2003 Þe dede fra a man his mynd reves And na kyndely witte with hym leves. 1480 Caxton Descr. Brit. 14 It accordeth better to kendly reson. 1587 Golding De Mornay i. 9 To loue company, and to clad himself.., (which things wee esteeme to be verie kindlie). 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 28 The earth shall sooner leave her kindly skil To bring forth fruit..Then I leave you. 1607 Shakes. Timon ii. ii. 226 'Tis lacke of kindely warmth, they are not kinde. |
† c. Naturally belonging to or connected with a person or thing; own, proper, suitable; = kind a. 1 c. Const. for, to. Obs.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xiv §2 Þincð him ᵹenoᵹ on..þam fodre þe him ᵹecyndelic bið. a 1300 Cursor M. 1912 Þe beist thoght selcut li god Þat þai hade raght þair kindle fode. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love Prol. (Skeat) I. 36 Lette frenche⁓men in their frenche also enditen their queinte termes, for it is kyndely to their mouthes. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2412 Thou shalbe wisest of wit..And know all the conyng, þat kyndly is for men. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xix. x, Here we muste begynne at kynge Arthur, as is kyndely to begynne at hym that was the moost man of worshyp..at that tyme. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1627) 350 Doe you not know that daintinesse is kindly vnto vs? 1647 Ward Simp. Cobler 69 Ropes and hatchets are not the kindliest instruments to set it. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 79 The kindliest attribute of time, which is successiveness in abiding. 1727 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Cheese, The Season of the Year denies a kindly Drying or Hardening thereof. |
† 2. That belongs to one by birth; native; hereditary; = kind a. 2. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 3914 (Gött.) To wend into þair kindly land. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) iv. xxxviii. (1859) 64 He hadde thus oppressyd his owne kyndely peple of his owne countre. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) II. 314 It pertenit to him be kindly heritage. 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxx. 201 King Roboam..tynt his kyndlie Trybes ten. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (1850) I. 3 James erll of Moray..had cassin them out of thair kindlie possessions quhilk (past memorie of man) their predicessoris and they had keipit. |
† b. Existing between kinsfolk. Obs. rare—1.
| 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. iv. 6 Traisting with ane..Quha was the ruite quhair of I did spring, In honour to liue be kyndelie allyance. |
3. Having a right to one's position in virtue of birth or descent; rightful, lawful (= kind a. 3 a). Of children: Lawfully born, legitimate. Of a tenant (Sc.): Holding a lease of land which his ancestors have similarly held before him: such a tenant usually held his land on favourable terms, and the name was also extended to others admitted as tenants on similar conditions.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. viii. (1890) 172 Þæs ylcan cyninges ᵹecyndelice dohtor. c 1275 O.E. Misc. 90 Crist, kundeliche kyng, cuþ þu þi mayht Rihtwise louerd. c 1425 Eng. Conq. Irel. 12 Trywly with hym for to hold frome þat tym forward, as har kyndly lord. 1513 More Rich. III, Wks. 67/2 As though the killing of his kinsmen could..make him a kindly king. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. v. 44 To be the kyndely children of the heauenly father. 1563 Sc. Acts Mary c. 13 Na kyndlie lauchfull possessour tennent or occupyar of ony of the saidis Kirk landis be remouit fra thair kyndelie rowme. 1600 Rental in Orig. Paroch. Scot. (1851) I. 517 [The teinds of the parish of Lintoun] quhairof my Lord of Mortoun is kyndlie takisman. 1773 Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. ii. vi. §37 A rental is a particular species of tack, now seldom used, granted by the landlord, for a low or favourable tack-duty, to those who are either presumed to be lineal successors to the ancient possessors of the land, or whom the proprietor designs to gratify as such: and the lessees are usually styled rentallers, or kindly tenants. 1816 Scott Old Mort. vii, Your service is not gratuitous—I trow ye hae land for it. Ye're kindly tenants. 1879 Hearn Aryan Househ. 73 He must be a genuine or kindly son..one born in lawful marriage. |
| transf. 1786 Mackenzie Lounger No. 87 ¶4 It was tenanted by kindly daws and swallows. |
b. Native-born; = kind a. 3 b. arch.
| 1820 Scott Monast. iii, God keep the kindly Scot from the cloth-yard shaft, and he will keep himself from the handy stroke. ? a 1833 Otterburn in Child Ballads III. 300 Let never living mortal ken That ere a kindly Scot lies here. |
II. Characterized by good nature.
4. Of good nature or natural qualities; excellent of its kind; of a good sort; in good condition, thriving; goodly. Cf. kind a. 4. arch. or dial.
Quot. 1548–9 is doubtful; some take it in sense 1.
| c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) vii. 26 Balme þat es kyndely and gude es riȝt clere and ȝalow. 1541 R. Copland Galyen's Terapeut. 2 A iij b, It behoueth than that the sayd flesshe be kyndely. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Litany, To geue and preserue to our use the kyndly fruytes of the earth. 1574 R. Scot Hop Gard. (1578) 9 The good and the kindely Hoppe beareth a great and a greene stalke. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 419 The fattest and kindliest Beef, that I did ever taste. 1772 Ann. Reg. 106/2 What the graziers call a kindly sheep; one that has always an inclination to feed. 1772–84 Cook Voy. (1790) IV. 1222 There is a large plain..producing a thick, kindly grass. 1887 S. Chesh. Gloss., Kindly,..healthy. ‘My plants binna very kindly.’ |
5. Of persons: Having a friendly benevolent disposition; kind-hearted, good-natured. Hence also of character, feelings, actions, etc. Cf. kind a. 5.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 100/14 Kyndly, benignus. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. v. 78 Melt Egypt into Nyle; and kindly creatures Turne all to serpents. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 411 Nor cou'd his Kindred, nor the kindly Force Of weeping Parents, change his fatal Course. 1797–1803 J. Foster in Life & Corr. (1846) I. 242 How much kindly, friendly softness of heart. 1842 Barham Ingol. Leg., Wedding-day, Your father was a kindly man. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxv. 9 Ah! no more to address thee, or hear thy kindly requital! 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars ii. 89 Those legacies..were left by kindly people a century or two ago. |
b. transf. and fig. Of things, esp. of the weather, climate, or soil: Genial, benign; favourable to growth or for a particular crop.
| 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. iii. vi. §44 In a kindly spring, bite it bare over night, next morning the grass will be grown to hide a wande therein. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 29 You, who swell those Seeds with kindly Rain. 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. i. 25 This [Rice] serves them for Bread-corn; and as the Country is very kindly for it, so their Inhabitants live chiefly of it. 1732 Pope Ess. Man ii. 275 Behold the child, by Nature's kindly law, Pleas'd with a rattle. 1789 G. White Selborne i. (1853) 14 A kind of white land..neither fit for pasture nor for the plough, but kindly for hops. |
6. Acceptable, agreeable, pleasant, genial. In later use, of conditions, influences, etc., blending with 5 b.
| 1382 Wyclif Lev. iv. 7 Of moost kyndli encense to the Lord. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. iii. 53 Therefore my age is as a lustie winter, Frostie, but kindely. 1696 Whiston The. Earth iv. (1722) 359 The Heat in the one, and the Cold in the other, were more kindly. 1828 Carlyle Misc., Burns (1872) II. 5 The kindliest era of his whole life. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. c, But each has pleased a kindred eye, And each reflects a kindlier day. 1854 Mrs. Oliphant Magd. Hepburn III. 41 Standing before the kindly hearth. |
III. 7. Comb., as kindly-dispositioned, kindly-hearted, kindly natured adjs.; † kindly-born a., native; kindly-like adv. in a manner suggesting kind feeling.
| 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) iv. xxxviii. (1859) 64 Nought only straungeours, but also the kyndely borne men of this same land. 1716 Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 136 [They] never carried more friendly and kindly-like than they did. 1859 Tennyson Enid 514 So spake the kindly-hearted Earl. 1871 Smiles Charac. viii. (1876) 227 It is the kindly-dispositioned men who are the active men of the world. |
▪ II. kindly, adv.
(ˈkaɪndlɪ)
Forms: see kind a.
[OE. ᵹecyndel{iacu}ce, f. as prec. + -l{iacu}ce, -ly2.]
I. † 1. a. In accordance with nature; naturally; by natural disposition; characteristically. Obs.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxv. §3 Ealla ᵹesceafta ᵹecyndelice..fundiað to cumanne to Gode. a 1225 Ancr. R. 124 Þer ase muchel fur is, kundeliche hit waxeð mid winde. a 1300 Cursor M. 9431 Þe first lagh was kald ‘o kind’, Þat es to sai kindli to do, Al þat him was biden to. c 1350 Will. Palerne 111 Þe kud king of Spayne was kindely his fader. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 114 Kepe þe fro a man þat kyndly is ȝalow and blew. 1575 Mirr. Mag., Fall blacke Smith vi, Nature hath so planted in ech degree, That Crabs like Crabs will kindly crall and crepe. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia (1622) 248 Because that out of the circumstance of her present behauiour, there might kindly arise a fit beginning of her intended discourse. |
b. In the way suitable or appropriate to the nature of the thing; properly, fittingly. In later use, esp. said of processes which successfully follow their natural course. Now rare.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1 Clannesse who-so kyndly cowþe comende. 1486 Bk. St. Albans C j, Who so will that an hawke endure and mew kyndli. 1548–77 Vicary Anat. v. (1888) 42 The Lippes..keepe the mouth close tyl the meate were kindly chewed. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 46, I vowd to be kindlye reuenged. 1641 H. Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 50 It is a very rare thinge to see oates ripe kindely, for usually the ridges will bee ripe and ready to shake when the furres are greene. 1758 J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) 250 The Suppuration proceeding kindly, the Wound became a simple Wound. 1842 J. Aiton Domest. Econ. (1857) 197 The butter and the cheese..are kindliest dealt with at home. |
c. In an easy, natural way; readily; congenially; spontaneously. Now dial. or colloq.
| 14.. Sir Beues (MS.M) 95/1917 He gaue hym a dynt than, His sworde so kyndly yode, That at the breste the dynt stode. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8601 Thay knew hym full kyndly be caupe of his sworde. 1563 T. Hill Art Garden. (1593) 5 Every ground doth not kindlie bring up Garden hearbes. 1658 Manton Exp. Jude verse 2 As we say of children that take the dug kindly, they will thrive and do well enough. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §259 The ground chain now came in kindly. 1886 Sat. Rev. 6 Mar. 327/2 One often hears it said, ‘Such and such an animal knows So-and-so the moment he gets up, and always goes kindly with him’. |
† d. Properly; thoroughly, exactly. Obs.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 221 If he hym-self knew kyndely, He suld haf knawyng of God almyghty. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 319 A wyndow wyd In þe compas of a cubit kyndely sware. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vi. 29, I knowe him as kuynde⁓liche as Clerk doþ his bokes. 1401 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 65 Sich as ben gaderid in couentis togidere..this clepe we monasticall, that kendly is knowun. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iv. 59 Rom. Meaning to cursie. Mer. Thou hast most kindly hit it. |
II. 2. With natural affection, affectionately, lovingly; with sympathy, benevolence, or good nature.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2500 He it for-gaf hem mildelike, And luuede hem alle kinde-like. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1613 Eiþer oþer keste kindeliche þat time. c 1400 Destr. Troy 657 The Knight was curtas, & kendly he saide:—‘Most louesom lady, your lykyng be done!’ 1535 Coverdale Bible Prol., How kyndly and fatherly he [God] helpeth the. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. i. 144, I thanke thee for thy loue to me, which..I will most kindly requite. 1611 Bible Gen. I. 21 Hee comforted them, and spake kindly vnto them. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. 52, I was aboard twice or thrice, and very kindly welcomed both by the Captain and his Lieutenant. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 151 They would be..used kindlier. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xiv, Mr. Thornhill having kindly promised to inspect their conduct himself. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 206, I must earnestly request that you will kindly answer. a 1882 Abp. Tait in Daily News (1891) 26 June 7/2 Tell him he is an ass,—but say so kindly. |
b. fig. Benignly, genially.
| 1792 Burns Bessy & her Spinnin Wheel ii, The sun blinks kindly in the biel'. |
3. In a way that is pleasant or agreeable to the recipient or object; agreeably, pleasantly.
| 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. Ind. i. 15 Let him come, and kindly. 1609 F. N. Fruiterer's Secr. 19 There be pippins..that haue the warmth of the sunne..they last long and eate kindly. 1863 Kinglake Crimea I. xiv. 210 How it was possible..that the coarse Bonaparte yoke of 1804 could be made to sit kindly upon the neck of France. 1875 H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 688 Thus, purgatives act much more kindly when a number of them are united together. |
4. Phrases.
a. to take kindly, to accept pleasantly, or as a kindness. b. to take kindly to, to be naturally attracted to or pleased with. c. to thank kindly, to thank heartily, with appreciation of the kindness shown.
| a. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d' Alf. (K.O.), Take it kindely at your hands. 1677 Littleton Lat. Dict., To take a thing kindly,..œquo, bono animo accipere. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 14 ¶1, I took his Admonition kindly. |
| b. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas x. x. ¶26, I took very kindly to my condition. 1866 Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. I. 330 They don't take kindly to me..and so I suppose I'm not generous enough to take kindly to them. |
| c. 1662 in Chr. Wordsworth Scholæ Acad. (1877) 293 note, Mother I kindly thank yo for y{supr} Orange pills yo sent me. 1785 Burns Ep. to Lapraik ii. v, Yet ye'll neglect to shaw your parts, An' thank him kindly! 1838 J. Grant Sk. Lond. 207, I thaunk'd her kindly for her condescension, and hoped she was weel hersel'. |
5. Comb. with pples. and adjs., as kindly-meant, kindly-sheltering, kindly-soft.
| 1599 H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner A a iv, Then Whiffe, and smoke Tobaccos antidot From out thy kindly traunced Chimny-head. 1868 J. H. Newman Verses Various Occas. 36 In the Church's Kindly-sheltering fold. 1885 Ruskin Let. in Pall Mall G. 24 Apr., Your kindly-meant paragraphs on my resignation. |