Namely
/ˈneɪmli/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adverbUsed to introduce exact details or names.
Extra definitions
adverbThat is to say.
adverbUsed to specify what was mentioned.
adverbIntroducing exact details or names.
Sentence Examples
Two students, namely Ana and Leo, won.
We need one thing, namely patience.
The meeting covers three issues, namely cost, safety, and timing.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
None
Word Origin & History
From Middle English namely, nameliche, namelike, equivalent to name + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian nämmelk, West Frisian nammentlik, Dutch namelijk, German Low German nämlich, German nämlich, Danish nemlig, Swedish nämligen, Icelandic nefnilega.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
““The story of this adoption is, of course, the pivot round which all the circumstances of the mysterious tragedy revolved. Mrs. Yule had an only son, namely, William, to whom she was passionately attached ; but, like many a fond mother, she had the desire of mapping out that son's future entirely according to her own ideas.[…].”
— 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Tragedy in Dartmoor Terrace”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
“THus was sir Tramtryst longe there wel cherysshed / with the kynge and the quene / and namely with la beale Isoud / So vpon a daye / the quene and la beale Isoud made a bayne for syre Tramtryst / And whan he was in his bayne / the quene and Isoud her doughter romed vp & doune in the chamber”
— 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “xj”, in Le Morte Darthur, book VIII:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
Two students, ____ Ana and Leo, won.