Etymology

blithely

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Today it means: Without care, concern, or consideration. Full definition →

Middle English blythely ← Old English blīþelīċe ← Proto-West Germanic [Term?]
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The story

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from[Term?]
  2. Old English · inherited fromblīþelīċe“gladly, blithely”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromblythely
  4. English todayblithely

From Middle English blythely, blyþely, bliþeliche, from Old English blīþelīċe (“gladly, blithely”), from Proto-West Germanic [Term?]; compare Dutch blijdelijk. By surface analysis, blithe + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.