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gingerly - 4 dictionary results
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gin⋅ger⋅ly

  [jin-jer-lee]
Use gingerly in a Sentence
–adverb
1. with great care or caution; warily.
–adjective
2. cautious, careful, or wary.
Origin:
1510–20; ginger-, perh. < MF gensor, genzor delicate, pretty, positive use of compar. of gent gentle; see -ly

Related forms:
gin⋅ger⋅li⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. cautiously, carefully, prudently.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gin·ger·ly   (jĭn'jər-lē)   
adv.  With great care or delicacy; cautiously.
adj.  Cautious; careful.

[Possibly alteration of obsolete French gensor, delicate, from Old French, comparative of gent, gentle; see gent1.]
gin'ger·li·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Gingerly

Gin"ger*ly\, adv. [Prov. E. ginger brittle, tender; cf. dial. Sw. gingla, g["a]ngla, to go gently, totter, akin to E. gang.] Cautiously; timidly; fastidiously; daintily.

What is't that you took up so gingerly ? --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : gingerly
Spanish: cautelosamente, cuidadosamente,
German: sachte,
Japanese: 用心深く
More Translations »

gingerly 
1519, "elegantly, daintily," perhaps from O.Fr. gensor, comp. of gent "dainty, delicate," from L. gentius "(well)-born." Meaning "extremely cautiously" is from 1607.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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