adj

sprightly

Sprightly (adj) means Animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited.

adj

Animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited.

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

Especially of an older person: energetic and in good health; spry.

Of or relating to a sprite; ghostly, spectral.

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Etymology

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 spīritus (“air; breath; breathing; ghost, spirit”), from spīrō (“to breathe; to breathe out, exhale”) (from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow; to breathe”)) + -tus (“suffix forming verbal nouns from verbs”).

Rhymes for sprightly

nightly lightly tightly rightly slightly brightly unsightly

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Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of sprightly?

"sprightly" (adj) means animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited.

What are the different meanings of sprightly?

"sprightly" has 3 main meanings: 1. Animated, gay, or vivacious; lively, spirited; 2. Of a person: full of life and vigour, especially with a light and springy step; 3. Especially of an older person: energetic and in good health; spry.