Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “thirdly” come from?

Thirdly derives from Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, and Proto-Germanic galīkaz meaning "like," combined with Proto-Germanic þridjô from Proto-Indo-European tréyes meaning "three" and ḱóm meaning "with."

thirdly (English): In the third place; third in a row

Definitions

  1. In the third place; third in a row

Ancestry of “thirdly”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishthirdThe ordinal form of the cardinal number three;...
2Middle Englishthirde—
3Old Englishþriddathird
4Proto-West Germanic*þriddjō—
5Proto-Germanicþridjôthird
6Proto-Indo-Europeantretyós—
7Proto-Indo-Europeantr̥tyósthird
8Proto-Indo-Europeantréyesthree
Every word from Proto-Indo-European tréyes →