Goodlier

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having greater moral goodness compared to others
2. Displaying a higher degree of virtue or ethical excellence than another
3. Showing a superior level of goodness in character or behavior

Etymology: "Goodlier" is the comparative of "goodly," and the comparison is a little odd in itself: "goodly" originally meant "good" or "fine" in a general way, and the English forms "more goodly" and "goodlier" drifted from there toward the sense of moral excellence. The base adjective goes back to Old English "gōdlīċ," built from "gōd" (good) and the suffix "-līc," the ancestor of modern "-ly," which formed adjectives meaning "having the qualities of" the base word. The same pattern appears in Dutch "goedelijk" and German "gütlich," which both carry a sense of benevolence or friendliness. The adjective's sense was broad: it could describe something large or handsome, such as a goodly company or a goodly sum, as much as something morally admirable. Around the same time, the adverb "goodly" from Old English "gōdlīċe" shows the same roots.

Synonyms: better, more pleasing

Antonyms: worse, less pleasing