sickly

Meanings

1. Frequently ill or in poor health; weakly.
2. Not in good health; (somewhat) sick.
3. Characterized by poor or unhealthy growth. (of a plant)
4. Appearing ill, infirm or unhealthy; giving the appearance of illness.
5. Shedding a relatively small amount of light; (of light) not very bright.
6. Lacking intensity or vigour.
7. Associated with poor moral or mental well-being.
8. Tending to produce nausea.
9. Overly sweet.
10. Marked by the occurrence of illness or disease (of a period of time).
11. Tending to produce disease or poor health.

1. To make (something) sickly.
2. To become sickly.

1. In a sick manner; in a way that reflects or causes sickness.

Etymology

From Middle English seekly, sekely, siklich, sekeliche, equivalent to sick + -ly. Possibly a modification of Old English sīcle (“sickly”) and/or derived from Old Norse sjúkligr (“sickly”). Cognate with Dutch ziekelijk, Middle High German siechlich, Danish sygelig, Swedish sjuklig, Icelandic sjúklegur. The verb is from the adjective.