adj., n.
Gaw, Cl comp. semloker; Cl semely, semlych; Erk semely; WA semely, semlych, semelych
‘seemly, fitting; comely, fair’
(Modern English seemly)Formed on seme (adj.), or derived directly from the analogous ON construction, cp. OIcel sœmiligr ‘becoming’ (rarely sœmligr).
PGmc Ancestor
*sōmi-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
sœmr ‘becoming, fit’; cp. sœmiligr ‘becoming’
(ONP sǿmi-ligr (adj.), sǿm-ligr (adj.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Icel sæmur, Norw sømre, Sw dial sym
OE Cognate
cp. gesōm (adj.) ‘unanimous, peaceable, friendly’
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
C1a
(C3)
Common and widespread in ME (from the AB group onwards, but esp. frequent from the 14c.)
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Gaw 83, 348, 672, etc.; Pe 34, 45, 789; Cl 209, 262, 816 etc.; Erk 84; WA 238, 1281, 2003 etc.
The D MS of WA reads <comle> at 1281.