adv.
'improperly'
(Modern English unseemly)Either formed on semly (adj.), or an adverbial usage of vnsemely (adj.).
PGmc Ancestor
*sōmi-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
sœmr (adj.) ‘becoming, fit’; cp. sœmiliga ‘honourably, becomingly’
(ONP sǿmi-ligr (adj.), sǿm-ligr (adj.), cp. sǿmi-liga (adv.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
OE Cognate
cp. gesōm (adj.) ‘unanimous, peaceable, friendly’
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
C1a
(C3)
Relatively uncommon in ME, with a handful of scattered citations in MED and OED; see also semly (adj.) and vnsemely (adj.).
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
WA 862