Etymology

rightly

right·ly
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Today it means: In a right manner; correctly, justifiably. Full definition →

Middle English ryȝtly ← Old English rihtlīċe ← Proto-West Germanic *rehtalīkā
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*rehtalīkê
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*rehtalīkā
  3. Old English · inherited fromrihtlīċe
  4. Middle English · inherited fromryȝtly
  5. English todayrightly

From Middle English ryȝtly, rihtliche, from Old English rihtlīċe, from Proto-West Germanic *rehtalīkā, *rehtalīkō, from Proto-Germanic *rehtalīkê, *rehtalīkô (“rightly”), equivalent to right + -ly. Cognate with West Frisian rjochtlik, Dutch rechtelijk, German rechtlich, Swedish rätteligen, Icelandic réttilega.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.