Where does “wretchedly” come from?
Wretchedly derives from Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, Proto-Germanic -līkaz, combining Proto-Germanic galīkaz with Proto-Indo-European līg- and ḱóm, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm.
wretchedly (English): In a wretched manner
Ancestry of “wretchedly”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | wretched | Very miserable; feeling deep affliction or... |
| 2 | Middle English | wrecched | unfortunate; miserable; unhappy; base; vile;... |
| 3 | Middle English | wrecche | wretched |
| 4 | Old English | wreċċa | a wretch, stranger, exile; exile, outcast |
| 5 | Frankish | wrakkjō | servant, boy; mercenary, servant; mercenary;... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | wrakjô | an exile, one who is persecuted or displaced,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wreǵ- | to work, act |