Where does “weakly” come from?
Weakly derives from Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, Proto-Germanic waikwaz meaning "pliant or bendable," Proto-Indo-European weg- meaning "to bend," combined with Proto-Indo-European līg- and ḱóm.
weakly (English): Frail, sickly or of a delicate constitution;...
Definitions
- Frail, sickly or of a delicate constitution;...
Ancestry of “weakly”, step by step
weakly traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old English waclice
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | waclice | weakly, feebly |
| 2 | Old English | -e | forming adverbs from adjectives; -ly |
| 3 | Old English | -en | mæġþ + API → mæġden; cocc + API → cycen, cicen;... |
| 4 | Old Norse | -inn | Used to create adjectives from nouns, meaning... |
| 5 | Proto-Norse | -īna- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -īnaz | -en |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |