Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sharply” come from?

Sharply comes from Old English sċearplīċe, the adverbial form of sċearp meaning sharp or severe.

sharply (English): In a sharp manner; Suddenly and intensely like a...

Definitions

  1. In a sharp manner; Suddenly and intensely like a...

Ancestry of “sharply”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsharply—
2Old Englishsċearplīċesharply, smartly
3Old English-līċe—
4Old English-eforming adverbs from adjectives; -ly
5Old English-enmæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;...
6Old Norse-innUsed to create adjectives from nouns, meaning...
7Proto-Norse-īna-—
8Proto-Germanic-īnaz-en
9Proto-Indo-European-iHnosCreates adjectives of materials
10Proto-Indo-European-no-adjectival suffix
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -no- →