Where does “purely” come from?
Purely comes from Middle English -ly added to Old English pūr (from Latin purus meaning "clean"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per- meaning "forward" or "through."
purely (English): Wholly; really, completely; Solely; exclusively;...
Definitions
- Wholly; really, completely; Solely; exclusively;...
Ancestry of “purely”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | pure | Free of flaws or imperfections; unsullied; Free... |
| 2 | Middle English | pure | pure, unadulterated, undiluted, untarnished;... |
| 3 | Old French | pur | pure; Alternative form of por |
| 4 | Old French | autre | Alternative form of altre; other |
| 5 | Old French | vie | life |
| 6 | Old French | viḍe | — |
| 7 | Latin | vitam | accusative singular of vīta |
| 8 | Latin | vīta | — |
| 9 | Latin | vīvō | — |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | gʷīwō | live, be alive |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷíh₃weti | to live, to be alive |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷih₃wós | alive, living |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷeih₃w- | to live |