ladylike

• lady-like

lady +‎ -like

ladylike (comparative more ladylike, superlative most ladylike)

1. Of or related to the appearance or behaviour of a well-mannered woman.
   • 1565, Thomas Cooper, Thesaurus Linguæ Romanæ & Britannicæ, […]‎, London:

     Coniux imperioſa. Ouidius. A ladylike wife that will be obeyed. […] Dura domina, imperioſa. Cic. A rigorous and ladilike dame that will be obeyed.

   • 1906 November 29, W. D. Nesbit, “The Querist”, in Life, volume 48, number 1257, page 673:

     Is it ladylike to giggle? / Is it ladylike to wink? / Is it ladylike to ride a horse astraddle? / Is it ladylike to wiggle? / Is it ladylike to drink? / Is it ladylike upon the beach to paddle? […]

   • 1976, Jessica Stirling [pseudonym; Hugh Crauford Rae], The Hiring Fair, Coronet Books, published 1998, →ISBN, page 271:

     Mirrin had lifted her second cup of tea, holding it, ladylike, with finger and thumb of her right hand while her left palm supported the saucer.

   • 1985, Margaret Atwood, “Soul Scrolls”, in The Handmaid’s Tale, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland and Stewart, →ISBN, page 165:

     Pirates, these women, with their ladylike briefcases for the loot and their horsy, acquisitive teeth.

• ladily

• ladylikely
• unladylike
• unladylikely

• gentlemanly
• etiquette

Borrowed from English ladylike.

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛɪ̯diˌlaɪ̯k/, /ˈleːdiˌlaɪ̯k/ (predicative or adverbial)
• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛɪ̯diˌlaɪ̯kə/, /ˈleːdiˌlaɪ̯kə/ (attributive)

ladylike (strong nominative masculine singular ladyliker, comparative ladyliker, superlative am ladylikesten or (rare) am ladyliksten)

1. ladylike (befitting of a lady)

   Synonyms: damenhaft, (rare) ladyhaft

• Both superlative spellings are pronounced the same: /ˈlɛɪ̯diˌlaɪ̯kstən/. The form ladyliksten follows the orthographic principle that final -e is deleted before suffixes, but it is uncommon in practice. Duden recognizes both spellings.

• Lady