Where does “fiercely” come from?
Fiercely comes from Middle English -ly added to fierce, which derives from Old English -līċ, Proto-Germanic -līkaz, and Latin ferus meaning wild, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots.
fiercely (English): In a fierce manner
Ancestry of “fiercely”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | fersly | — |
| 2 | Middle English | fers | — |
| 3 | Old English | fers | verse; sentence, title |
| 4 | Latin | versus | turned, changed, having been turned; towards,... |
| 5 | Latin | vertō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | wertō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |