Where does “horribly” come from?
Horribly comes from Middle English horribly, derived from the adjective horrible meaning "causing horror or dread."
horribly (English): In a horrible way; very badly; To an extreme...
Definitions
- In a horrible way; very badly; To an extreme...
Ancestry of “horribly”, step by step
horribly traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English horrible
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | horrible | A thing that causes horror; a terrifying thing,... |
| 2 | Middle English | horrible | horrible |
| 3 | Old French | horrible | — |
| 4 | Latin | horribilis | horrible, terrible, dreadful, fearful |
| 5 | Latin | -bilis | -ble |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -ðlis | Forms adjectives from verb stems indicating capacity or worth of being acted on |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlis | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlom | Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;... |
via Middle English horribly
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | horribly | — |