Quaintly

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˈkweɪntli/

Definitions

1. In a manner that is both charmingly unusual and pleasantly nostalgic
2. Performed in a way that is distinctly attractive due to its old-fashioned or uncommon qualities
3. Done in a manner that evokes a charming vintage or uncommon style

Etymology: Quaintly is simply "quaint" with the adverb-forming suffix "-ly" added, and the suffix itself has a longer history than the word it attaches to. The "-ly" ending descends from Old English "-līce", which was tied to the noun "līc", meaning "body" or "form", so an adverb like this once carried the sense of "in the form or manner of" something. Over the centuries that ending wore down through Middle English "-ly" into the everyday form we use today. The root, "quaint", reaches back to Latin "cognitus", meaning "known", and it came into English through Old French. Its early senses were far from charming: it could mean skilful or clever, and later it shaded toward strange or odd. The sense of pleasing oddity that quaintly now carries developed gradually from that idea of something being unfamiliar enough to draw notice.

Synonyms: charmingly, oddly