-ly

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See also ly, LY, and .ly

Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology 1

From Middle English -ly, -li, -lich, from Old English -līċ, from Proto-Germanic *-līkaz (having the body or form of), from *līkan (body) (whence lich). Cognate with Dutch -lijk, German -lich and Swedish -lig, and with English -like (from Proto-Germanic *līka-).

[edit] Suffix

-ly

  1. Used to form adjectives from nouns, the adjectives having the sense of "like or characteristic of what is denoted by the noun".
    gentlemanly
[edit] Translations
[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Etymology 2

From Old English -līċe.

[edit] Suffix

-ly

  1. Used to form adverbs from adjectives.
    suddenly
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations

[edit] Usage notes

  • In the English language, -ly is often omitted from adverbs (e.g. badly becomes bad). This can be considered improper grammar, and may be corrected, "I want it bad." being "I want it badly.", for example.

[edit] See also


[edit] Middle English

[edit] Etymology

Old English, see above

[edit] Suffix

-ly

  1. -ly (suffix used to form adverbs)
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