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Namely vs Mainly - What's the difference?

namely | mainly |

As adverbs the difference between mainly and namely

is that mainly is forcefully, vigorously while namely is especially, above all.

namely

English

Adverb

(-)
  • Especially, above all.
  • *:
  • *:THus was sir Tramtryst longe there wel cherysshed / with the kynge and the quene / and namely with la beale Isoud / So vpon a daye / the quene and la beale Isoud made a bayne for syre Tramtryst / And whan he was in his bayne / the quene and Isoud her doughter romed vp & doune in the chamber
  • Specifically; that is to say.
  • :
  • :
  • *{{quote-book, year=1905, author=
    • , title= , chapter=1 citation , passage=“The story of this adoption is, of course, the pivot round which all the circumstances of the mysterious tragedy revolved. Mrs. Yule had an only son, namely , William, to whom she was passionately attached ; but, like many a fond mother, she had the desire of mapping out that son's future entirely according to her own ideas.

    Usage notes

    A synonymous expression is the use of colon—":", as in "There are three ways to do it: the right way, the wrong way." Considered a dependent clause, a comma' should follow the expression and either a '''semicolon''' or ' comma should precede it, depending on the strength of the break in continuity. "Namely" can thus almost be considered a conjunction.

    Anagrams

    * *

    mainly

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • (label) Forcefully, vigorously.
  • * , III.i:
    • Mainly they all attonce vpon him laid, / And sore beset on euery side around.
  • (label) Of the production of a sound: loudly, powerfully.
  • *, II.31:
    • But in the end, mainly crying out, he fell to raling and wringing his master, upbraiding him that he was not a true Philosopher.
  • (label) To a great degree; very much.
  • Chiefly; for the most part.
  • *, chapter=12
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=She had Lord James' collar in one big fist and she pounded the table with the other and talked a blue streak. Nobody could make out plain what she said, for she was mainly jabbering Swede lingo, but there was English enough, of a kind, to give us some idee.}}

    Anagrams

    * English focus adverbs