Etymology

earnestly

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Today it means: In an earnest manner; being very sincere; putting forth genuine effort. Full definition →

Middle English ernestly ← Old English eornostlīċe
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromeornostlīċe“earnestly, strictly”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromernestly
  3. English todayearnestly

From Middle English ernestly, from Old English eornostlīċe (“earnestly, strictly”), equivalent to earnest + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.