gingerly

Meanings

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

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

Etymology

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.