(Forms: 1–2 -líce, 2–5 -liche, 4–5 -lich, 3–5 north. -like, (3 Orm. -like, -liȝ), 3–6 -li, 4– -ly), forming adverbs, represents OE. -líce, corresponding (functionally if not morphologically) to OFris. -lîke, OS. -lîko (M.Du. -lîke, Du. -lijk, MLG. -lîke, mod.LG. -lik), OHG. -lîchô (MHG. -liche, mod.G. -lich), ON. -liga, -lega (MSw. -lika, -leka, in mod.Sw. superseded by -ligt, -ligen; Da. -lig), Goth. -leikô, derived from -iîko- (see -LY1) with an adverb-forming suffix, OTeut. -ô, according to some repr. the ending of the abl. fem. (pre-Teut. -ād) or neut. (pre-Teut. -ōd); according to others that of the instrumental neut. (pre-Teut. -ōm).
The form-history of the suffix in Eng. is similar to that of -LY1: in ME. the OE. -líce was normally represented by -līche (southern), -līke (northern), the compar. being -līker, -luker, -loker (superl. -est).
The form -li, -ly, which was current in East Midland English in the 14th c., and became general in the 15th c., is probably due to the influence of the ON. -liga. In the strongly Scandinavianized dialect of the Ormulum (c. 1200) -liʓ and -like are used indifferently, according to the requirements of the meter. Where the positive ended in -li, -ly, the comparative and superlative ended in -lier, -liest. In the 15–17th-c. forms like falslyer, traitorouslyer (Malory), softlier, justlier, widelier (Long, Barclay’s Argenis, 1625), easilier, -est (R. Baxter, Saving Faith, 1658) were common, but in later use the advs. in -ly are compared with more, most, the inflexional forms being only employed in poetry or for rhetorical effect.
In OTeut. an adv. with this suffix must have implied the existence of an adj. with the suffix corresponding to -LY1 In OE., however, there are several instances (e.g., bealdlíce boldly, swétlíce sweetly) in which an adv. in -líce has been formed directly from a simple adj. without the intervention of an adj. in -lic. In ME. the number of these direct formations was greatly increased, and when the final -e, which was the original OE. adverb-making suffix, ceased to be pronounced, it became usual to append -ly to an adj. as the regular mode of forming an adv. of manner. It was, down to the 17th c., somewhat frequently attached, with this function, even to adjs. in -ly, as earlily, godlily, kindlily, livelily, lovelily, statelily; but these formations are now generally avoided as awkward, while on the other hand it is felt to be ungraceful to use words like godly, goodly, lovely, mannerly, timely, as advs.; the difficulty is usually evaded by recourse to some periphrastic form of expression. In examples belonging to the 16th and 17th c. it is sometimes difficult to determine whether a writer intended the adv. goodly to mean ‘in a good manner’ or ‘in a goodly manner,’ and there are other instances of similar ambiguity. In the words denoting periodical recurrence, as daily, hourly, the adj. and the adv. are now identical in form. A solitary example of an adv. f. sb. + -ly2 with no related adj. is partly. From the early part of the 16th c. the suffix has been added to ordinal numerals to form advs. denoting serial position, as firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc. (cf. F. premièrement, etc.).
When -ly is attached to a disyllabic or polysyllabic adj. in -le, the word is contracted, as in ably, doubly, singly, simply; contractions of this kind occur already in the 14th c., but examples of the uncontracted forms (e.g., doublely) are found as late as the 17th c. Whole + -ly becomes wholly, but in all other similar instances the written e is retained before the suffix, e.g., in palely, vilely, puerilely. Adjs, ending graphically with ll lose one l before -ly, as in fully in southern Eng. commonly pronounced with a single l, but in Scotland often with double or long l), dully, coolly. Adjs. of more than one syll. ending in y change y to i before -ly, as in merrily; in formations from monosyllabic adjs. the usage varies, e.g., dryly, drily; gayly, gaily (cf. daily, which is the only current form); slyly, slily (but always shyly); greyly, grayly has always y. Another orthographical point is the dropping of the e in the two words duly, truly. It is unusual to append -ly to an adj. in -ic; the ending of the adv. is nearly always -ICALLY, even when the only current form of the adj. ends in -ic.
