See Also: pratincole(medicine)
pratincole(dictionary)
softly(1)(dictionary)
softly(2)(dictionary)
softly-softly(dictionary)
tread-softly(medicine)
softly-spoken(dictionary)
Warm treacle tart with softly whipped cream(recipes)

softly(2) (iou) and pratincole (iou)


softly(2) (iou)



softly adverb & interjection. ME.
[from SOFT adjective + -LY2.]
A. adverb.
Gently, tenderly. ME.
M. Callaghan He..stroked her hair softly.
With a soft or subdued voice or utterance; in a low or gentle tone. ME.
I. Murdoch I spoke softly, but the words seemed like thunder.
Quietly, noiselessly; lightly. Also, unobtrusively, stealthily. ME.
softly softly (catchee monkey) cautiously; discreetly and with cunning.
J. Barth I..opened the door softly, and tiptoed inside.
Slowly, with an easy pace or motion. LME.
Comfortably, luxuriously. LME.
Gradually; gently. LME.
In a subdued manner. E19.
b. interjection. = SOFT interjection. arch. LME.

pratincole (iou)



pratincole noun. L18.
[mod. Latin pratincola, from Latin pratum meadow + -COLE.]
Ornithology. Any of several birds of the Old World genus Glareola (family Glareolidae), closely related to the coursers, which resemble swallows in flight and live near rivers and marshes. Also, (more fully Australian pratincole), a long-legged bird, Stiltia isabella, of semidesert and open grassland in Australia and Indonesia, which provides a link between the Other pratincoles and the coursers.