Where does “illy” come from?
I need to work through this chain carefully, though I notice some issues with the data provided.
The chain shows:
- English ill
- Middle English -ly
- Old English -līċ
- Old Norse íllr
- Proto-Indo-European h₁elk-
- Proto-Indo-European līg-
- Proto-Indo-European ḱóm
- Proto-Indo-European ḱóm (repeated)
However, there are problems: the headword is "illy" but the chain starts with "ill"; the chain seems malformed (jumping from Old Norse back to PIE roots, with unclear connections); and the meaning is marked unknown.
Given the constraints that I must state only what the chain supports and not invent, and that the chain doesn't coherently support a clear etymological path for "illy," I cannot write an accurate one-sentence summary following all the rules.
illy (English): Badly; poorly
Ancestry of “illy”, 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 | — |