likely · adjective, noun1
- Old Norse · derived fromlíkligr“likely”
- Old English · inherited fromġelīclīċ“suitable”
- Middle English · inherited fromlikely
- English todaylikely
From Middle English likely, likly, lykly, likliche, from Old English ġelīclīċ (“suitable”) and Old Norse líkligr (“likely”) (probably independent formations), equivalent to like + -ly (adjectival suffix).
likely · adverb2
- Proto-Germanic · inherited from*līkalīka
- Old Norse · derived fromlíkliga
- Old English · inherited fromġelīclīċe“equally”
- Middle English · inherited fromlikely
- English todaylikely
From Middle English likely, likly, lykly, likliche, from Old English ġelīclīċe (“equally”) and Old Norse líkliga, glíkliga (“likely”), both from Proto-Germanic *līkalīka, equivalent to like + -ly (adverbial suffix).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.