duly
/ˈduli/adverb
duly is spelled D-U-L-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, duly means “In a due, fit, or becoming manner; as it ought to be; suitably; properly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in duly?
| Letters | 4: D-U-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,228th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is duly?
Duly appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,228th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce duly?
- /ˈdʒuːli/
- /ˈdjuːli/
- US /ˈduli/
Duly has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-duly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with duly?
9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as duly from its last stressed vowel (/uli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of duly
- more duly comparative
- most duly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does duly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a due, fit, or becoming manner; as it ought to be; suitably; properly.
The citizen's concern was duly noted in the meeting minutes.
- 2
Regularly; at the proper time.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Duly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dûment , ponctuellement |
| German | gebührend, ordnungsgemäß , pünktlich |
| Portuguese | devidamente |
| Spanish | debidamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does duly come from?
From Middle English duely, dewly, dulyche, dueliche, duweliche (“rightly, properly”), equivalent to due + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).