Where does “exactly” come from?
Exactly derives from Middle English -ly, Latin exactus, Latin exigo, Latin ago, Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ-, Latin ex, and Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ-.
exactly (English): without approximation; precisely; Used to provide...
Definitions
- without approximation; precisely; Used to provide...
Ancestry of “exactly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | exact | Precisely agreeing with a standard, a fact, or... |
| 2 | Latin | exactare | — |
| 3 | Latin | exactus | driven out, expelled, having been driven out;... |
| 4 | Latin | exigō | — |
| 5 | Latin | agō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |