English
shortly
Shortly comes from Old English sċortlīċe ‘shortly’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *skurtaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtaz‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skurt‘short’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċort‘short’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150sċortlīċe‘shortly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schortly
- Englishearliest quotation 1749shortly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*skurtaz‘short’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*skurt‘short’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sċort‘short’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150sċortlīċe‘shortly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500schortly
- Englishearliest quotation 1749shortly
Earliest quotation: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones: “We shall not describe this tragical scene too fully;…”
Formed from short + -ly
Proto-Germanic *skurtaz ‘short’
Proto-West Germanic *skurt
Old English sċort ‘short’
Middle English schort
English short
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerdʰ- ‘to cut up’
through Proto-Germanic *skertaną ‘to cut (off), shorten’
through Proto-Germanic *skurtaz ‘short’
Today it means
adv In a short or brief time or manner; quickly.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *skurtaz / shortly