gingerly

Signification (Anglais)

Adv

1. In a cautious and delicate manner; (very) carefully or cautiously.
2. (obsolete) Chiefly of dancing or walking: done with small, dainty steps; daintily; also, with excessive delicacy; affectedly, mincingly.

Adj

1. Often of movements: very careful, cautious, or delicate.
2. (obsolete) Often of a person or the way they move: dainty, delicate; also, excessively delicate; affected, mincing.

Concepts

précautionneusement

doucement

avec précaution

Synonymes

cautiously

carefully

cautious

fearfully

closely

forehanded

gingery

guarded

nervously

noncommittal

offish

prudent

qualified

reserved

timidly

uncommunicative

undemonstrative

wary

with great caution

chary of

canny

precautionarily

careful

chary

circumspectly

Traductions

behutsam

voorzichtig

cauteloso

tedbirli

yavaşça

yavaş

επιφυλακτικός

behoedzaam

recatado

ihtiyatlı

cautamente

leniter

con circospezione

vorsichtig

Prononcé comme (IPA)

/ˈdʒɪn(d)ʒəli/

Étymologie (Anglais)

The second element is -ly; the first element may be Anglo-Norman gençur or Old French gençor, gensor, comparative forms (also attested as positives) of gent (“beautiful, noble, pleasant, courteous”). The Oxford English Dictionary notes, however, that there is a gap of a few centuries between the last appearance of gençor, etc., and the first appearance of gingerly.
The adjective is derived from the adverb, possibly because -ly is also a suffix forming adjectives.