English
farlie
Farlie comes from Old English fǣrlīċ ‘sudden, unexpected, quick, horrible’, and goes back to fǣr.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fǣr
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150fǣrlīċ‘sudden, unexpected, quick, horrible’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500farli
- Englishearliest quotation 1612farlie
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150fǣr
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150fǣrlīċ‘sudden, unexpected, quick, horrible’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500farli
- Englishearliest quotation 1612farlie
Earliest quotation: 1612, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion: “(Whilst thus himselfe to please, the mightie Mountaine tells…”
Formed from fear + -ly
Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to go through’
Proto-Germanic *fērō ‘danger’
Old English fǣr ‘calamity’
Middle English feer
English fear
Linked words
through Old English fǣr
Today it means
noun An unusual or unexpected thing; a wonder.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English fǣr / farlie