Where does “variably” come from?
Variably comes from Middle English -ly adverb suffix added to variable, which derives from Latin variare meaning "to change," from Latin varius meaning "varied" or "different."
variably (English): In a variable manner
Ancestry of “variably”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | variable | Able to vary or be varied; Likely to vary; Marked... |
| 2 | Old French | variable | — |
| 3 | Latin | variāre | — |
| 4 | Latin | varius | diverse, different, various, variegated |
| 5 | Latin | vārus | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂wer- | to lift up; to moisten; to flow; to raise, hang |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wēr- | true |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |