stately
/ˈsteɪtli/adjective, adverb
stately is spelled S-T-A-T-E-L-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, stately means “Worthy of respect; dignified, regal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in stately?
| Letters | 7: S-T-A-T-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is stately?
Stately appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd 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 stately?
- UK /ˈsteɪtli/
Stately 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-stately.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of stately
- statelier comparative
- stateliest superlative
- more stately comparative
- most stately superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stately mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Worthy of respect; dignified, regal.
- 2
Deliberate, unhurried; dignified.
- 3
Grand; impressive; imposing.
adverb
- 1
In a stately manner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stately in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | imposant |
| German | stattlich |
| Portuguese | majestoso, imponente |
| Spanish | majestuoso, señorial, solariego , imponente |
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 stately come from?
From Middle English staately, staatly, stateli, statelie, stately, statelyche, statelye, statli, statly. Compare stour. By surface analysis, state + -ly (adjectival suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).