Where does “recently” come from?
Recently derives from English recent, from Latin recens, ultimately tracing through Old English -līċ and Proto-Germanic -līkaz to Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "body" or "form."
recently (English): In the recent past
Ancestry of “recently”, 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 | — |