English
rankly
Rankly comes from Old English ranclīċe ‘showily’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ranclīċe‘showily’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rankli
- Englishearliest quotation 1907rankly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ranclīċe‘showily’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rankli
- Englishearliest quotation 1907rankly
Earliest quotation: 1907, James George Frazer, Adonis: “Certainly no pages could seem to the censor more…”
Formed from rank + -ly
Proto-Germanic *hringaz ‘something bent or curved’
Frankish *hring ‘ring’
Old French ranc ‘line, row’
Middle English rank ‘line, row’
English rank
Every English word from Old English ranclīċe
Today it means
adv In a rank manner.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English ranclīċe / rankly