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greatly

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *gʰer-der.
Proto-Germanic *grautaz
Proto-West Germanic *graut
Old English grēat
Middle English grete
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
Middle English gretly
English greatly

    Inherited from Middle English gretly. By surface analysis, great + -ly.

    Pronunciation

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    Adverb

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    greatly (comparative more greatly or greater or (rare) greatlier, superlative most greatly or greatest or (rare) greatliest)

    1. To a great extent or degree.
      Synonyms: very, drastically; see also Thesaurus:very
      Antonym: slightly
      Expenses greatly exceeded revenues this year, much to nobody's surprise.
      He was more greatly beloved than anyone in living memory.
      I admire Elvis Presley greatly.
      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
        There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs, […], and all these articles […] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished.
      • 2011 October 29, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport:
        Terry's goal looked to have put Chelsea in control on the stroke of half-time but Arsenal's response presented a compelling case for Wenger's insistence that reports of his side's demise have been greatly exaggerated.
      • 2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL, number 969, page 56:
        Instead of retracing my route, I have elected to walk across Blackpool to the town's remaining large station, although even this has been greatly reduced in size.
      • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:greatly.
    2. (archaic) Nobly; magnanimously.
      • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:
        His Suff’rings ſhine, and ſpread a Glory round him;
        Greatly unfortunate, he fights the Cauſe
        Of Honour, Virtue, Liberty, and Rome.
      • 1823, Catherine George Ward, The Cottage on the Cliff: A Sea-side Story, page 251:
        But all this our fisher, who was neither a poet, nor a dependent, did not know, so he concluded, that all who were truly great, were truly greatly minded, and noble in soul, as they were exalted by birth, and rich in splendour.

    Translations

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    Further reading

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    • “greatly”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

    Anagrams

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    Yola

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    Etymology

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      From Middle English gretly. By surface analysis, graat +‎ -ly.

      Pronunciation

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      Adverb

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      greatly

      1. greatly (to a great extent or degree)
        • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 26:
          Ich as [or 'chas] greatly blin.
          I was greatly mistaken.

      References

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      • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 26
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