Likelies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term used to refer to persons or things that are considered probable to happen or succeed in a given context
2. The plural form of an informal term indicating individuals or situations that have a high likelihood of occurring
3. Denoting multiple entities that are deemed likely or expected to produce a specific outcome or result

Etymology: "Likelies" is the plural of "likely" used as a noun, and it is an informal sporting and gambling shorthand: the favourites, the candidates most probable to win or to happen. The noun itself is simply "likely" with a plural ending added, so the story lies in the adjective behind it. That adjective goes back to Old English "ġelīclīċ", meaning "suitable", and to Old Norse "líkligr", meaning "likely". The two were probably independent formations that arrived at the same idea. Both are built from "like", in the sense of resembling or being similar, plus the suffix "-ly", which turns a word into an adjective. A thing that is "likely" is, at root, one that looks like it will turn out the way it is expected to. The noun use is a modern extension of that adjective, applied to people and outcomes rather than to qualities, and the plural form follows the usual English pattern for nouns.

Synonyms: probabilities, chances