Where does “differently” come from?
Differently comes from Middle English -ly, an adverbial suffix from Old English -līċ, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European bʰer- meaning to carry or bear.
differently (English): In a different way
Definitions
- In a different way
Ancestry of “differently”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | differently | differently |
| 2 | Middle English | different | different |
| 3 | Old French | different | — |
| 4 | Latin | differens | spreading, scattering, dispersing, separating;... |
| 5 | Latin | differo | I carry different ways, spread, scatter,... |
| 6 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 7 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 8 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |