-ly

American  

1. a suffix forming adverbs from adjectives: gladly; gradually; secondly.

2. a suffix meaning “every,” attached to certain nouns denoting units of time: hourly; daily.

3. an adjective suffix meaning “-like”: saintly; cowardly.

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-ly ¹ British  

suffix

1. having the nature or qualities of

   brotherly

   godly

2. occurring at certain intervals; every

   daily

   yearly

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-ly ² British  

suffix

1. in a certain manner; to a certain degree

   quickly

   recently

   chiefly

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ly ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

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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

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

At present they appear derivative; their termination -ly having no separate and independent existence.

From A Handbook of the English Language by Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)

The fact that a word ends in -ly does not make it an adverb.

From An English Grammar by Sewell, James Witt

The older language, however, shows that they are compounds; since -ly is nothing else than -lic, Anglo-Saxon; -lih, Old High German; -leiks, Mœso-Gothic; = like, or similis, and equally with it an independent separate word.

From A Handbook of the English Language by Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)