Where does “crookedly” come from?
I need to point out an issue with the chain provided: it appears to be circular/repetitive (English crook/crooked alternating), which doesn't constitute a proper etymology showing language development over time.
A legitimate etymology requires a chain showing development from older languages through to English. The chain given shows only modern English forms repeating, with no earlier language sources (such as Old English, Proto-Germanic, or other ancestor languages) that would explain the word's origin.
Without a proper etymological chain showing the word's development from earlier languages, I cannot write an accurate one-sentence origin summary according to your rules, which require naming "every language in the chain in order."
Could you provide the correct etymological chain for "crookedly" showing its development through earlier language stages?
crookedly (English): In a crooked manner
Ancestry of “crookedly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -ly | Used to form adjectives from nouns, the... |
| 2 | English | grisly | Horrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying;... |
| 3 | Middle English | grisely | — |
| 4 | Old English | grisliċ | grisly, horrible; dreadful, horrid |
| 5 | Old English | -līċ | suffix forming {{glossary|adjective}}s meaning... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *-līk | — |