different between sunny vs sprightly

English

Etymology

From Middle English sunni, from Old English *sunni?. Cognate with West Frisian sinnich, Low German sünnig, Dutch zonnig, German sonnig. Equivalent to sun +? -y

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?ni/
• Rhymes: -?ni
• Homophone: sonny

Adjective

sunny (comparative sunnier, superlative sunniest)

1. (of weather or a day) Featuring a lot of sunshine.

   Whilst it may be sunny today, the weather forecast is predicting rain.

2. (of a place) Receiving a lot of sunshine.

   the sunny side of a hill

   I would describe Spain as sunny, but it's nothing in comparison to the Sahara.

3. (figuratively, of a person or a person's mood) cheerful

   a sunny disposition

   • c. 1590, William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors Act I scene 1

     My decayed fair / A sunny look of his would soon repair.

   • 1841, Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge

     A gleam of sun shining through the unsashed window, and chequering the dark workshop with a broad patch of light, fell full upon him, as though attracted by his sunny heart.

4. Of or relating to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; shiny; radiant.

   • sunny beams

Synonyms

• (weather, day): bright; sunshiny
• (place): sunlit
• (person): bright, cheerful

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

sunny (not comparable)

1. (US, regional) sunny side up

Noun

sunny (plural sunnies)

1. A sunfish.

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?sp?a?tli/
• Hyphenation: spright?ly

Etymology 1

From spright +? -ly (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘behaving like, having the nature of’). Spright is an obsolete variant of sprite (“a shade, spirit; elf, fairy, goblin; apparition, ghost”), from Middle English sprit (“principle of life; soul, especially at the point of death; immaterial being (angel, demon, apparition, ghost, etc.); divine inspiration; Holy Spirit; the mind, intellect, reason; mental faculties, senses; power of prophecy; character, disposition; courage, resolution; mood, state of mind; human will; breath; (alchemy) volatile substance”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman esprite, esprit and Middle French esprit, variants of Anglo-Norman, Middle French, Old French espirit, esperit (“spirit”), from Latin sp?ritus (“air; breath; breathing; ghost, spirit”), from sp?r? (“to breathe; to breathe out, exhale”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow; to breathe”)) + -tus (“suffix forming action nouns from verbs”).

Adjective

sprightly (comparative sprightlier, superlative sprightliest)

1. Animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited.

   Synonyms: energetic, high-spirited, (chiefly Australia, US) spright

   Antonym: melancholy
2. Of a person: full of life and vigour, especially with a light and springy step.

   Synonyms: active, dynamic, mettlesome, vivacious

   1. Especially of an older person: energetic and in good health; spry.
3. (obsolete, rare) Of or relating to a sprite; ghostly, spectral.

Alternative forms

• sprightlie (obsolete)
• spritely

Derived terms

• spright (adjective) (chiefly Australia, US)
• sprightle (English Midlands, Northern Ireland, rare)
• sprightlily
• sprightliness

Related terms

• sprightful
• sprightless (rare)
• sprightness (rare)

Translations

Etymology 2

From spright +? -ly (suffix forming adverbs from adjectives).; see further at etymology 1.

Adverb

sprightly (comparative sprightlier, superlative sprightliest)

1. In a lively and vigorous way; sprightlily.

Derived terms

• sprightlily

Translations

References

Anagrams

• triglyphs