The story
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂leyH-
- Old Latinleitera
- Latinlīterader.?
- Proto-Hellenic*dipʰtʰérā?
- Ancient Greekδιφθέρᾱ (diphthérā)
- Etruscan[Term?]bor.?
- Latinlittera
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Late Latinlitterāli
- Old Frenchlitera
- Middle Englishliteral
- Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
- Proto-Germanic*līką
- Middle Englishlitteraly
- English todayliterally
From Middle English litteraly. See literal and letter. By surface analysis, literal + -ly.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.