English
dearly
Dearly comes from Old English dēorlīċe ‘worthily, richly’, from Proto-West Germanic *diurī ‘valuable, precious’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *diurijaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*diurijaz‘dear, precious’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*diurī‘valuable, precious’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dīereas dēore‘costly, expensive, of great worth’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150dēorlīċe‘worthily, richly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500derely
- Englishearliest quotation 2023dearly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*diurijaz‘dear, precious’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*diurī‘valuable, precious’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dīereas dēore‘costly, expensive, of great worth’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150dēorlīċe‘worthily, richly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500derely
- Englishearliest quotation 2023dearly
Earliest quotation: 2023, John Poulos, Dominion’s C.E.O.: Why We Settled the Lawsuit Against Fox Ne: “But I take solace in the fact that the…”
Formed from dear + -ly
Proto-Germanic *diurijaz ‘dear’
Proto-West Germanic *diurī ‘valuable’
Old English dēore ‘of great value or excellence’
Middle English dere
English dear
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- ‘to burn’
day, dawn, fever, daw, febrile, foment, 19 more
through Proto-Germanic *diurijaz ‘dear, precious’
Today it means
adv In a dear or precious manner.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *diurijaz / dearly