Where does “thinly” come from?
I need to carefully analyze this etymological chain. However, I notice something unusual: the chain appears to show "thin" + "-ly" formation in English/Middle English, but the older layers seem to break down into separate roots that don't clearly connect to "thin."
Looking at the chain more carefully:
- English "thin" + Middle English "-ly" (suffix)
- Old English "-līċ" (suffix)
- Then it branches into: "þan" (Proto-Germanic), "só" (PIE), "līg-" (PIE), and "ḱóm" appears twice
This chain seems corrupted or incomplete—it doesn't show a coherent path. The "-ly" suffix etymology is separate from the "thin" etymology, and the PIE roots don't clearly support a "thin" meaning.
Given the instruction to "state only what the chain supports" and not to "invent
thinly (English): In a thin, loose, or scattered manner; scantily;...
Definitions
- In a thin, loose, or scattered manner; scantily;...
Ancestry of “thinly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | thin | Having little thickness or extent from one... |
| 2 | Middle English | thinne | thin, narrow, skinny, slender; weak; sparse,... |
| 3 | Old English | þynne | thin |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | þunnī | thin |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | þunnuz | thin |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ténh₂us | thin |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tenh₂- | to stretch, to extend |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ten- | to stretch, to extend |