Etymology

idly

I1D2L1Y4

Today it means: Without specific purpose, intent or effort. Full definition →

Middle English idely ← Old English īdellīċe
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

idly · adverb1

  1. Old English · inherited fromīdellīċe
  2. Middle English · inherited fromidely
  3. English todayidly

From Middle English idely, ydelly, idelliche, from Old English īdellīċe, equivalent to idle + -ly.

idly · noun2

  1. Kannada · borrowed fromಇಡ್ಲಿ
  2. Tamil · borrowed fromஇட்லி
  3. English todayidly

From Tamil இட்லி (iṭli), Kannada ಇಡ್ಲಿ (iḍli).

Words from the same roots

Tamilஇட்லி all →

idli

Kannadaಇಡ್ಲಿ all →

idli

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.