English
blithely
Blithely comes from Old English blīþelīċe ‘gladly, blithely’, from blīþe ‘happy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- ‘to shine’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₁-‘to shine’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰlī-‘light, fine, pleasant’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blīþiz‘pleasant, pleasing, delightful, friendly’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blīþī‘happy’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150blīþe‘happy’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150blīþelīċe‘gladly, blithely’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blythely
- Englishearliest quotation 1986blithely
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₁-‘to shine’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰlī-‘light, fine, pleasant’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blīþiz‘pleasant, pleasing, delightful, friendly’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blīþī‘happy’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150blīþe‘happy’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150blīþelīċe‘gladly, blithely’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blythely
- Englishearliest quotation 1986blithely
Earliest quotation: 1986, Susan Sontag, The Way We Live Now: “[…] and now was hardly the time, as Stephen…”
Equivalent to blithe + -ly
Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘shiny’
…
Proto-Germanic *blīþiz ‘friendly’
Proto-West Germanic *blīþī ‘happy’
Old English blīþe ‘happy, gentle’
Middle English blithe ‘glad, happy, joyful’
English blithe
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- ‘to shine’
blow, inflation, blast, flavor, flux, fluent, bladder, confluence, fluency, feeble, inflate, flatulence, fluvial, conflate, soufflé, blare, blasé, bleat, blather, 44 more
through Proto-Germanic *blīþiz ‘pleasant, pleasing, delightful, friendly’
through Proto-West Germanic *blīþī ‘happy’
Today it means
adv Without care, concern, or consideration.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- / blithely