English
highly
Highly comes from Middle English hiȝly, from Old English hēalīce ‘highly’; equivalent to high + -ly.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hēalīce‘highly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hiȝly
- Englishearliest quotation 1952highly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hēalīce‘highly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hiȝly
- Englishearliest quotation 1952highly
Earliest quotation: 1952, R. K. Kirkland, The Railways of Uxbridge: “There are those who value a seat sufficiently highly…”
Formed from high + -ly
Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to bend’
Proto-Germanic *hauhaz
Proto-West Germanic *hauh
Old English hēah ‘high’
Middle English high
English high
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kewk- ‘to elevate’
through Proto-Germanic *hauhaz ‘high’
Today it means
adv In a high or esteemed manner.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English hēalīce / highly