Etymology

hopefully

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Today it means: In a hopeful manner. Full definition →

First used 17th c.English hopeful ← Proto-Germanic *fullaz ← Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós
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The story

  1. Proto-West Germanic*tōhopōn
  2. Old Englishtōhopa
  3. Old Englishhopa
  4. Middle Englishhope
  5. Englishhope
  6. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*pl̥h₁nós
  8. Proto-Germanic*fullaz
  9. Englishhopeful
  10. English todayhopefully

From hopeful + -ly. The use as a sentence adverb first gained currency in the United States and has been explained as a possible calque of German hoffentlich.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. In a hopeful manner.
  • from 18th c. It is hoped that; I hope; we hope.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.