Etymology

boldly

bold·ly
B3O1L1D2L1Y4

Today it means: In a bold manner; with confidence. Full definition →

Middle English boldely ← Old English bealdlīċe
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited frombealdlīċe“boldly, earnestly”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromboldely
  3. English todayboldly

From Middle English boldely, boldeliche, baldeliche, from Old English bealdlīċe (“boldly, earnestly”), equivalent to bold + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.