Where does “stiffly” come from?

Stiffly derives from Middle English stifly with the Middle English adverbial suffix -ly, from Old English -līċ and līką, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European steyp- meaning to compress or press together.

stiffly (English): In a stiff manner

Definitions

  1. In a stiff manner

Ancestry of “stiffly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishstiflyStiffly, firmly, unmoveably; in a way that makes...
2Middle EnglishstifStiff, firm, hard; difficult to move or...
3Old EnglishstīfStiff, firm, hard
4Proto-West Germanicstīfstiff, rigid
5Proto-Germanicstīfazstiff, rigid
6Proto-Indo-Europeansteypós—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European steypós →Every word from Proto-Germanic stīfaz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic stīf →