Middle English Dictionary Entry
gọ̄līke adj.
Entry Info
| Forms | gọ̄līke adj. |
| Etymology | ON; cp. OI gōligr. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
Gay, joyful.
Associated quotations
- c1175 Orm.(Jun 1)15662,15665 : Cafarrnaum bitacneþþ Golike tun & scone tun & faȝȝerr to bihaldenn; & swillc iss all þiss middellærd Golike & scone & faȝȝerr Till alle þa þatt lufenn itt.
Supplemental Materials (draft)
Note: Though certainty is not possible, a sense of 'fine, splendid, fair' seems at least as likely as 'gay, joyful.' The OI comparand góligr is glossed by Zoëga as 'pretty, fine'; and the standard gloss on the Biblical name 'Capernaum' is 'villa pulcherrima' (Glossa Ordinaria, Bede). See Sara M. Pons-Sanz, "Norse-Derived Terms in Orm's Lexico-Semantic Field of EMOTION," JEGP 114:4, 566ff.