Where does “boastfully” come from?
Boastfully derives from Middle English -ly affixed to boast, with the adverbial suffix -ly tracing to Old English -līċ, Proto-Germanic -līkaz, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "body" or "form."
boastfully (English): In a boastful manner
Ancestry of “boastfully”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | boastful | Tending to boast or brag |
| 2 | English | -ful | Used to form adjectives from nouns. Full of,... |
| 3 | Middle English | -ful | Appended to nouns to form adjectives denoting... |
| 4 | Old English | -ful | full of; -ful |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -fullaz | -ful |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | fullaz | full; the whole, the entire |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pl̥h₁nós | full |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₁- | to fill |