-ly
WiktionaryText
Etymology 1
From , from , from (whence ). Cognate with Dutch , German and Swedish .
Suffix
- Used to form adjectives from nouns, the adjectives having the sense of "like or characteristic of what is denoted by the noun".
- gentlemanly
Suffix
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.