English
greatly
Greatly comes from Middle English grete ‘great, massive, amazing’, from Old English grēat ‘big’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd- ‘to rub, grind, remove’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰrewd-‘to rub, grind, remove’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grautaz‘coarse, crude’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grautreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150grēat‘big’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500grete‘great, massive, amazing’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500gretly
- Englishearliest quotation 1712greatly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰrewd-‘to rub, grind, remove’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*grautaz‘coarse, crude’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*grautreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150grēat‘big’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500grete‘great, massive, amazing’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500gretly
- Englishearliest quotation 1712greatly
Earliest quotation: 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato: “His Suff’rings ſhine, and ſpread a Glory round him;…”
Linked words
through Proto-West Germanic *graut
through Middle English grete ‘great, massive, amazing’
Today it means
adv To a great extent or degree.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd- / greatly