-ly
American-
a suffix forming adverbs from adjectives: gladly; gradually; secondly.
-
a suffix meaning “every,” attached to certain nouns denoting units of time: hourly; daily.
-
an adjective suffix meaning “-like”: saintly; cowardly.
suffix
-
having the nature or qualities of
brotherly
godly
-
occurring at certain intervals; every
daily
yearly
suffix
-
in a certain manner; to a certain degree
quickly
recently
chiefly
abbreviation
-
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Etymology
Origin of -ly
Middle English adverb -li, -lich(e), Old English -līce ( -līc adjective suffix + -e adverb suffix); Middle English adjective -li, -ly, -lich(e), Old English -līc (cognate with German -lich ), suffixal use of gelīc “similar to, like”; like 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And below is a list of most common -ly adverbs by author.
From Slate • Nov. 21, 2013
I know the house quite well—I've heard Her father's something in the City, And she's a blue-eyed girl absurd- -ly pretty.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, April 4, 1891 by Various
Compounds and Divisions: Omit the hyphen when using an adverb compounded with -ly before a participle: a newly built house.
From Newspaper Reporting and Correspondence A Manual for Reporters, Correspondents, and Students of Newspaper Writing by Hyde, Grant Milnor
Don Calixto was a man that made phrases and ornamented them with many adverbs ending in -ly.
From Cæsar or Nothing by How, Louis
Brightly, bravely.—Here an adjective is rendered adverbial by the addition of the derivative syllable -ly.
From A Handbook of the English Language by Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.