Where does “understandably” come from?
Understandably derives from Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, Proto-Germanic -līkaz, all ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European līg- and ḱóm, which expressed the notion of "like" or "similar."
understandably (English): For reasons that are easy to understand or...
Definitions
- For reasons that are easy to understand or...
Ancestry of “understandably”, 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 | — |