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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

timely.

Done at the proper time or within the proper time limits; prompt.

6 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈtaɪm.li/
  1. Done at the proper time or within the proper time limits; prompt.

  2. Happening or appearing at the proper time.

  3. Keeping time or measure.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English timely, tymely, timliche, from Old English *tīmlīc (adjective) and tīmlīċe (“in good time; timely; soon”, adverb), equivalent to time + -ly. Cognate with Danish timelig, Swedish timlig, Icelandic tímalegur, tímanlegur.

adv/ˈtaɪm.li/
  1. In good time; early, quickly.

    archaic
  2. At the right time; seasonably.

    obsolete
  3. In compliance with applicable time limits.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English timely, tymely, timliche, from Old English *tīmlīc (adjective) and tīmlīċe (“in good time; timely; soon”, adverb), equivalent to time + -ly. Cognate with Danish timelig, Swedish timlig, Icelandic tímalegur, tímanlegur.

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timely studiotimely workshello, timely

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.