Ungelic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Lacking the virtuous, pure, or benevolent qualities associated with angels
2. Failing to display the goodness, innocence, or spiritual grace typical of an angel
3. Exhibiting behavior or character that is contrary to what would be considered angelic or heavenly

Etymology: In Old English, "ungelic" meant "unlike" or "unequal," and it was built from two parts: the negative prefix "un-" and "gelic," meaning "like" or "similar." The second part is the more striking one. "Gelic" combined the collective prefix "ge-" with "lic," meaning "body" or "form," so "like" originally meant something close to "having the same form or body." That same root appears in "-ly," the suffix in words like "quickly" and "slowly," which descends from "lic." The English "like" and the German "gleich" (equal) share this ancestry, so a "gelic" thing was one that matched in bodily shape. Over the Middle English period, "ungelic" gave way to "unlike," formed in the same way from "un-" and "like." The original "ge-" prefix had already dropped out of the adjective by then, so "unlike" retains the same meaning with a shorter form.