Where does “shortly” come from?

Shortly comes from Old English sċortlīċe, formed from sċort (short) with the adverbial suffix -līċe.

shortly (English): In a short or brief time or manner; quickly; In...

Definitions

  1. In a short or brief time or manner; quickly; In...

Ancestry of “shortly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishschortlyshortly
2Old Englishsċortlīċeshortly; before long; soon; shortly
3Old English-līċely (adverbial suffix)
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-Every word from Proto-Germanic -īnazEvery word from Old English -en