Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
1,135,093,057 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

surly

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
sur·ly  (sûrl)
adj. sur·li·er, sur·li·est
1. Sullenly ill-humored; gruff.
2. Threatening, as of weather conditions; ominous: surly clouds filled the sky.
3. Obsolete Arrogant; domineering.

[Middle English sirly, masterful, lordly, from sir, lord; see sir.]

surli·ly adv.
surli·ness n.
Word History: That the word surly means "churlish" nicely indicates its fall in status. Churlish derives from the word churl, which in its Old English form ceorl meant "a man without rank, a member of the lowest rank of freemen," as well as "peasant." In Old English ceorl may have been a term of contempt; it certainly became one in Middle English, where cherl meant "base fellow, boor," with churlish descending in meaning accordingly. Surly, on the other hand, started life at the top of the scale. In Middle English and Early Modern English, surly was only one spelling for this word; another, sirly, reflects its origin in sir, the term of honor for a knight or for a person of rank or importance. Sirly, the form under which the early spellings of the word are entered in the Oxford English Dictionary, first meant "lordly." Surly, entered as a separate word in the OED and first recorded in 1566, meant perhaps "lordly, majestic," in its earliest use and was subsequently used in the sense "masterful, imperious, arrogant." As the gloss "arrogant" makes clear, the word surly could have a negative sense, and it is this area of meaning that is responsible for the current "churlish" sense of the word.

surly
Adjective
[-lier, -liest] bad-tempered and rude [from obsolete sirly haughty]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.surlysurly - inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace; "a surly waiter"; "an ugly frame of mind"
ill-natured - having an irritable and unpleasant disposition

surly
Translations

surly [ˈsəːlɪ] adjhosco, malhumorado
surly [ˈsəːlɪ] adjrevêche, maussade
surly [ˈsəːlɪ] adjverdrießlich, mürrisch
surly [ˈsəːlɪ] adjscontroso/a, burbero/a

surly
adj surly [ˈsəːli]
bad-tempered or rude. onbeskof فَظ، مُكْفَهِر المِزاج груб mrzutý irriteret; grov verdrießlich αγενής, εριστικός de carácter agrio, hosco; malhumorado pahur تند خو äreä bourru רַגזָנִי खिन्न osoran, otresit mogorva pemarah önugur burbero, scontroso 不きげんな 기분이 언짢은, 난폭한 irzlus īgns; rupjš perengus nors tverr; uhøflig gburowaty malhumorado ursuz грубый nevrlý osoren grub butter, vresig บูดบึ้ง ters, aksi, kaba 粗暴的, 無禮的 похмурий; грубий بد مزاج cáu kỉnh, gắt gỏng ,
n ˈsurliness
onbeskoftheid فَظاظَه، إكْفِهْرار المِزاج невъзпитано nevrlost grovhed die Verdrießlichkeit αγένεια, εριστικότητα hosquedad, mal humor; aspereza pahurus تند خويي äreys air bourru אָרֶשֶת זוֹעֶפֶת रूखापन osornost, otresitost gorombaság; mogorvaság kemarahan önuglyndi scontrosità 不きげん 난폭함 irzlumas īgnums; rupjība perengus norsheid tverrhet; uhøflighet gburowatość mau humor aer ursuz грубость nevrlosť osornost grubost butterhet, vresighet การไร้มารยาท; ความหยาบคาย terslik, kabalık 粗暴 грубість بد مزاجی sự cáu kỉnh, sự gắt gỏng


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
He had a surly old face, and did not seem at all pleased to see her--but then she was displeased with his garden and wore her "quite contrary" expression, and certainly did not seem at all pleased to see him.
``You should not ease me of mine so lightly,'' muttered Gurth, whose surly honesty could not be tamed even by the pressure of immediate violence, ---``had I it but in my power to give three strokes in its defence.
Shimerda and Antonia always deferred to him, though he was often surly with them and contemptuous toward his father.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.