sourlyadv.
/ˈsaʊəli/, U.S. /ˈsaʊərli/ 1. In a sour, peevish, or disagreeable manner:
a. With intransitive verbs, esp. to look.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > ill-naturedness > sourness or bitterness of temper > [adverb]
tartlyc1000
sour?a1513
sourlya1533
crabbedly1574
acridlya1750
acrimoniously1753
acerbly1793
tartishly1823
sourishly1846
acidulously1889
vinegarishly1890
a1533 J. Frith in Test. W. Tracie (1535) sig. Ciij Why loke yow so sowerlye good brotherne?
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xxii. 22 Yf he speake sowerly, feare not.
1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man vi. 561 Who seemed to grinde his teeth, and to looke sowrely vppon him.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iii. 13 Though I shew'd sowrely to him. View more context for this quotation
1675 T. Brooks Golden Key 281 This truth looks very sowrly and frowningly upon all such as deny the Godhead of Christ.
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite ii, in Fables 36 To this reply'd the stern Athenian Prince, And sow'rly smild.
1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey V. xx. 183 Two dogs of chace..Behind him sow'rly stalk'd.
1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi II. v. vii. 281 The Cardinal smiled sourly.
1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel III. 279 ‘At eighteen I was not a fool,’ replied Mrs. Ferrers sourly.
b. With transitive verbs.
ΚΠ
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. v. 42 Waye not sowrelye nor extremely whiche is more in faulte.
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. Tii I..being sourelie rebuked for fawning on thee, am yet as fruitfull in thy loue.
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. P2v It did much displease, That any should so sourely him outface.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis ix, in tr. Virgil Wks. 465 They keep the strict Command, And sourly wait in Arms the Hostile Band.
1847 R. W. Emerson Poems 195 O richest fortune sourly crossed; Born for the future, to the future lost!
c. With adjectives.
ΚΠ
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre II. iii. 86 Her face grew momently..more sourly expressive of disappointment.
1884 R. Browning Ferishtah's Fancies 122 The sourly-Sage, [for whom] life's best was death.
2. With great dislike or distaste.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > hatred > dislike > [adverb]
sourly1548
aversely1643
mislikingly1882
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxviii All the Constables promises were..swetely spoken, and sowerly performed.
1579 T. Twyne tr. Petrarch Phisicke against Fortune ii. Ep. Ded. 161 What contention haue children with their bookes and learning, most sowerly sowing that, which they shall reape most sweetlie.
3. With sourness or acidity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > [adverb]
sourly1574
1574 T. Hill Ord. Bees xiii [One] not breathing sourly or of a stinking breath.
1881 Standard 29 Oct. 1/2 I'd try their sourness, if I knew Where those gooseberries sourly grew.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.a1533