Where does “thusly” come from?
Thusly is an English formation from the adverbial suffix -ly (Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, Proto-Germanic -līkaz meaning "body" or "form") attached to thus (Middle English thus, Old English -sa, Proto-Germanic sa, Proto-Indo-European ḱóm).
thusly (English): thus
Ancestry of “thusly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -ly | Used to form adjectives from nouns, the... |
| 2 | English | grisly | Horrifyingly repellent; gruesome, terrifying;... |
| 3 | Middle English | grisely | — |
| 4 | Old English | grisliċ | grisly, horrible; dreadful, horrid |
| 5 | Old English | -līċ | suffix forming {{glossary|adjective}}s meaning... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *-līk | — |