Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “-ly” come from?

-ly (English) comes from English grisly, from Middle English grisely, from Old English grisliċ, from Old English -līċ, from Proto-Germanic *-līk.

-ly (English): Used to form adjectives from nouns, the...

Definitions

  1. Used to form adjectives from nouns, the...

Ancestry of “-ly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgrislyHorrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying;...
2Middle Englishgrisely—
3Old Englishgrisliċgrisly, horrible; dreadful, horrid
4Old English-līċsuffix forming {{glossary|adjective}}s meaning...
5Proto-Germanic*-līk—

Words derived from “-ly”

  • especially
  • particularly
  • nearly
  • immediately
  • certainly
  • directly
  • merely
  • completely
  • frequently
  • exactly
  • relatively
  • equally
  • recently
  • largely
  • closely
  • previously
  • slightly
  • possibly
  • perfectly
  • necessarily
  • rapidly
  • extremely
  • apparently
  • eventually
Every word from Proto-Germanic *-līk →