Where does “originally” come from?
Originally comes from Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, Proto-Germanic -līkaz, and ultimately traces through Latin -alis and Latin orior, with Proto-Indo-European ḱóm and Latin vertere in the formation chain.
originally (English): As it was in the beginning; In an original manner
Definitions
- As it was in the beginning; In an original manner
Ancestry of “originally”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | originali | Originally, primordially; in a way preceding everything else |
| 2 | Middle English | original | original, primordial; preceding everything else;... |
| 3 | Old French | original | — |
| 4 | Latin | orīginālis | original |
| 5 | Latin | orīgō | commencement act, event or process of coming into existence: beginning, origination |
| 6 | Latin | -igo | Enlargement of -ō; Suffixed to nouns and to... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | agō | drive; push, impel; do, act |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éǵeti | to be driving |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |