Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “warily” come from?

Warily comes from English wary with the adverbial suffix -y, from Middle French -ie and Latin -ia, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰew-.

warily (English): in a wary manner

Definitions

  1. in a wary manner

Ancestry of “warily”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwaryCautious of danger; carefully watching and...
2EnglishWare—
3Middle EnglishwareAlternative form of veir; Alternative form of...
4Old Englishwærcautious, on guard, watching out for something;...
5Proto-West Germanicwārtrue, reliable
6Proto-Germanicwēraztrue; reliable; friendly; kind
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanwiHrósman; husband; warrior, hero
8Proto-Indo-Europeanweyh₁-to chase, pursue; to suppress, persecute
Every word from Proto-Indo-European weyh₁- →