Where does “wrongfully” come from?
Wrongfully comes from Middle English wrongfully, from Middle English -ly added to Middle English -ful, from Old English -ful, from Proto-Germanic līką, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁-.
wrongfully (English): In a wrongful manner; unjustly
Definitions
- In a wrongful manner; unjustly
Ancestry of “wrongfully”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | wrongfully | evilly, sinfully; unfairly, unethically;... |
| 2 | Middle English | wrongful | evil, sinful; wrongful, unethical; dishonest |
| 3 | Middle English | wrong | A wrong, injustice; A wrong, evil, wrongdoing,... |
| 4 | Old English | wrang | wrong, injustice; rough, uneven |
| 5 | Old Norse | rangr | unjust |
| 6 | Old Norse | wrangr | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | wrangaz | twisted, warped, bent, crooked, wry; wretched,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | werḱ- | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |