Etymology

bigly

big·ly
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Today it means: In a big way, greatly; to a great extent, on a large scale. Full definition →

Middle English bygly
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bigly · adverb, adjective1

  1. Middle English · inherited frombygly
  2. English todaybigly

From Middle English bygly, byggly, biggely. By surface analysis, big (“of great size, large (adjective); to a large extent, on a large scale; hard (adverb)”) + -ly.

bigly · adjective2

  1. Old Norse · derived frombyggiligr
  2. Middle English · inherited frombygly
  3. English todaybigly

From Middle English bygly, biglie, byggly (“comfortable, stately, perfect”), borrowed from Old Norse byggiligr, byggviligr (“habitable”); equivalent to big (“to build, construct, live in, reside, dwell”) + -ly. Cognate with Icelandic byggilegur (“inhabitable, liveable”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.