Word Woman

Welcome to another astounding episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! We are at number eight out of ten in our series of words which only seem to appear in the negative. And the Word of the Week is:

Ungainly: [adjective] (of a person, animal or movement) awkward; clumsy. -- "The Oxford American Dictionary and Language Guide", Oxford University Press, New York, 1999.

But how many times have you heard someone say:

Gainly: [adjective] 1. Proper, suitable, becoming.
2. Ready to help, kindly, gracious.
3a. Of conduct: Graceful, tactful.
3b. Of bodily form, attitude, or movement: The reverse of ungainly; graceful, shapely.
-- "The Oxford English Dictionary", Second Edition, Volume 6, J.A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1989.

Example: There were some at the dance recital who thought 3-year-old Emily's performance somewhat ungainly, but to her mother's eyes, Emily's every movement was perfectly gainly.