Dull, gloomy, or lacking brightness; appearing dowdy or shabby in appearance.
Possibly related to 'dow' (dark/dull) or a variant of 'dowdy'; the exact origin is uncertain, but it appears in Scottish and Northern English dialects meaning dark, drab, or melancholy.
This wonderful Scottish word captures a very specific mood—that gray, overcast feeling you get on a dreary afternoon when everything looks a bit dingy and lifeless! Scottish writers loved using words like 'dowly' because the climate gave them plenty of inspiration.
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