silvery
UK[ˈsɪlvəri]US[ˈsɪlvəri]
adj
resembling silver in colour or appearance; shiny and greyish-white.
adj
having a soft, clear, ringing sound like that of silver being struck.
Morpheme Breakdown
silver
y
silver
metal
y
adjective suffix
Etymology
the word 'silvery' is a transparent english formation, directly combining the noun 'silver' with the productive adjectival suffix '-y'. the old english noun 'seolfor' has ancient germanic roots, related to old norse 'silfr' and gothic 'silubr', all denoting the precious metal. the suffix '-y', from old english '-ig', is a common and versatile tool for deriving descriptive adjectives from nouns, indicating possession or resemblance. thus, 'silvery' logically evolved to describe anything possessing the distinctive lustrous, pale grey hue or the clear, ringing tonal quality associated with the metal silver.
Analysis
Structure: silver (metal) + y (adjective suffix)
- silver: from old english 'seolfor' (the precious metal), of germanic origin.
- y: a native english suffix forming adjectives, meaning "characterized by; full of; having the qualities of".
Examples
the moon cast a silvery light on the calm surface of the lake.
her hair had turned a beautiful silvery grey with age.
we could hear the silvery notes of a bell echoing through the valley.