English
slyly
Slyly comes from Middle English sleighly ‘Judiciously, consideredly, shrewdly’, from Old Norse slǿgr ‘crafty, cunning, sly’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *slak- ‘to hit, strike, throw’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*slak-‘to hit, strike, throw’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slahaną‘to hit, strike’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slōgiz‘able to strike’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350slǿgr‘crafty, cunning, sly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sly‘Judicious, considered, shrewd’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500sleighly‘Judiciously, consideredly, shrewdly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1749slyly
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*slak-‘to hit, strike, throw’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slahaną‘to hit, strike’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*slōgiz‘able to strike’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350slǿgr‘crafty, cunning, sly’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sly‘Judicious, considered, shrewd’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500sleighly‘Judiciously, consideredly, shrewdly’
- Englishearliest quotation 1749slyly
Earliest quotation: 1749, Henry Fielding, In which Mrs. Miller Pays a Visit to Sophia: “VVhen ſhe vvas dreſt, therefore, dovvn ſhe vvent, reſolved…”
Formed from sly + -ly
Proto-Indo-European *slak- ‘to hit, throw’
Proto-Germanic *slōgiz ‘lively, agile, cunning, sly, striking’
Old Norse slǿgr ‘sly, cunning’
Middle English sly ‘Judicious, considered, shrewd’
English sly
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *slak- ‘to hit, strike, throw’
through Proto-Germanic *slahaną ‘to hit, strike’
slaughter, slay, slew, slug, slag, 4 more
through Proto-Germanic *slōgiz ‘able to strike’
through Middle English sly ‘Judicious, considered, shrewd’
Today it means
adv In a sly manner, cunningly.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *slak- / slyly