Etymology

preferably

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Today it means: In preference; by choice; in a preferable manner. Full definition →

Proto-Germanic *līką ← Proto-Indo-European *leyg- ← English preferable
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The story

  1. Englishpreferable
  2. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  3. Proto-Germanic*līką
  4. English todaypreferably

From preferable + -ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.