powerlessly

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English powerless

Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der.

Proto-Germanic *līkąder.

Proto-Germanic *-līkaz

Proto-Germanic *-ê

Proto-Germanic *-līkê

Proto-West Germanic *-līkē

Old English -līċe

Middle English -ly

English -ly

English powerlessly

From powerless + -ly.

Adverb

powerlessly (comparative more powerlessly, superlative most powerlessly)

1. In a powerless manner.
   • 2015 August 4, Lela Moore, “Blame a Male-Biased Algorithm for the Temperature in Your Office? Readers Respond”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Women, accustomed to shivering powerlessly at their desks, cried foul, but several male readers contended that a different sort of injustice was at play — wardrobe inequality.

Anagrams

• yellow press