English
sleightly
Sleightly comes from Middle English sleightely ‘Slyly, cleverly’, from sleighte ‘Wit, shrewdness, judiciousness’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *slōgiþō.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slōgiþōreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350slœgð‘trick, sleight, slyness’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sleighte‘Wit, shrewdness, judiciousness’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500sleightely‘Slyly, cleverly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1658sleightly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slōgiþōreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350slœgð‘trick, sleight, slyness’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sleighte‘Wit, shrewdness, judiciousness’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500sleightely‘Slyly, cleverly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1658sleightly
Earliest quotation: 1658, Samuel Crooke: “He healeth others sleightly, because he is sick of…”
Formed from sleight + -ly
Proto-Indo-European *slak- ‘to hit, strike, throw’
…
Proto-Germanic *slōgiz ‘cunning’
Proto-Germanic *slōgiþō
Old Norse slœgð ‘cunning’
Middle English sleighte ‘Wit, shrewdness, judiciousness’
English sleight
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *slōgiþō
Today it means
adv With cunning; dexterously.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *slōgiþō / sleightly