English
foxly
Foxly comes from Middle English *foxlich.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*foxlichreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1917foxly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*foxlichreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1917foxly
Earliest quotation: 1917, Henry Handel Richardson: “His foxly object was attained. The attention of the…”
Formed from fox + -ly
Proto-Indo-European *púḱsos ‘the tailed one’
Proto-Germanic *fuhsaz ‘fox’
Proto-West Germanic *fuhs
Old English fox ‘fox’
Middle English fox
English fox
Every English word from Middle English *foxlich
Today it means
adj Sly like a fox; foxlike.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English *foxlich / foxly