Where does “perilously” come from?
Perilously comes from Middle English perilously, formed with the Middle English adverbial suffix -ly from Old English -līċ, ultimately deriving from Latin periculosus, meaning dangerous or hazardous, built from the root per- and the Latin suffix -osus.
perilously (English): In a perilous manner
Definitions
- In a perilous manner
Ancestry of “perilously”, step by step
perilously traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English perilous
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | perilous | Dangerous, full of peril |
| 2 | Middle English | perilous | Full of danger or peril; dangerous, harmful,... |
| 3 | Old French | perilleus | perilous; very dangerous |
| 4 | Latin | periculosus | dangerous, hazardous, perilous |
| 5 | Latin | -ōsus | ose, -ous, -ful (full of or overly prone to) |
| 6 | Old Latin | -ōssus | — |
via Middle English perilously
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | perilously | In a way that is full of peril; harmfully,... |
| 2 | Middle English | -ly | Alternative form of -liche |
| 3 | Old English | -līċ | suffix forming {{glossary|adjective}}s meaning... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *-līk | — |