different between excellent vs lovely

English

Etymology

From Middle English excellent, from Old French excellent, from Latin excell?ns (“elevated, exalted”), present participle of excell? (“elevate, exult”), equivalent to excel +? -ent.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??ks?l?nt/, /??ks?l?nt/

Adjective

excellent (comparative excellenter or more excellent, superlative excellentest or most excellent)

1. Having excelled, having surpassed.
2. Of higher or the highest quality; splendid.

   • A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire.

3. Exceptionally good of its kind.

4. Superior in kind or degree, irrespective of moral quality.
   • 1754-1762, David Hume, The History of England

     Elizabeth, therefore, who was an excellent hypocrite

   • Their sorrows are most excellent.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:excellent

Antonyms

• poor
• terrible

Derived terms

• excellence
• excellently
• excellentness

Related terms

• excel

Translations

Adverb

excellent (comparative more excellent, superlative most excellent)

1. (obsolete) Excellently.
   • , New York Review Books 2001, p.287:

     Lucian, in his tract de Mercede conductis, hath excellent well deciphered such men's proceedings in his picture of Opulentia […].

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch excellent, from Middle French excellent, from Old French excellent, from Latin excell?ns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??k.s??l?nt/
• Hyphenation: ex?cel?lent
• Rhymes: -?nt

Adjective

excellent (comparative excellenter, superlative excellentst)

1. (formal) excellent, splendid

   Synonyms: uitmuntend, uitstekend

Inflection

Related terms

• excellentie

French

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin excellens.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k.s?.l??/

Adjective

excellent (feminine singular excellente, masculine plural excellents, feminine plural excellentes)

1. excellent; splendid

Usage notes

This adjective is generally placed before the noun it modifies.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k.s?l/

Verb

excellent

1. third-person plural present indicative of exceller
2. third-person plural present subjunctive of exceller

Further reading

• “excellent” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

excellent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of excell?

Middle French

Noun

excellent m (feminine singular excellente, masculine plural excellens, feminine plural excellentes)

1. excellent

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin excell?ns.

Pronunciation

Adjective

excellent m (feminine singular excellenta, masculine plural excellents, feminine plural excellentas)

1. excellent

Related terms

• excelléncia
• excellir

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: l?v?l?, IPA^(key): /?l?vli/

Etymology 1

From Middle English lovely, luvelich, lufli, from Old English lufl?c (“amiable, loving, lovable”), equivalent to love +? -ly.

Adjective

lovely (comparative lovelier, superlative loveliest)

1. Beautiful; charming; very pleasing in form, looks, tone, or manner.
   • 1915, Herman Cyril McNeile, The Lieutenant and Others

     His pink coat was lovely
2. Very nice, wonderful.
3. (obsolete) Inspiring love or friendship; amiable.
4. (obsolete) Loving, filled with love.

Synonyms

• beautiful
• charming
• lovable
• lovesome
• loving
• See also Thesaurus:beautiful

Derived terms

• lovelily
• loveliness
• unlovely

Related terms

• loverly
• lovingly

Translations

Adverb

lovely (comparative more lovely, superlative most lovely)

1. (informal) In a lovely fashion or manner; beautifully.

Noun

lovely (plural lovelies)

1. (informal) An attractive, lovely person, especially a (professional) beauty.

   Synonyms: pretty, darling

2. Term of fond address.
3. A lovely object.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English lovely, loveli, lofli, lovelike, lovelic (“praiseworthy; laudatory”), equivalent to lofe +? -ly. Cognate with Dutch loffelijk (“laudable, praiseworthy”), German löblich (“commendable, laudable, praiseworthy”), Swedish lovlig (“permissible”). More at lofe, love.

Adjective

lovely (comparative lovelier or more lovely, superlative loveliest or most lovely)

1. (archaic) Worthy of praise.

Anagrams

• volley

Middle English

Adjective

lovely

1. lovely: loving, filled with love

   • Many a lovely loke on them he cast.