rankly

R1A1N1K5L1Y4

adverb

In a rank manner.

OriginMiddle English rankli ← Old English ranclīċe →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

adverbrankly (comparative more rankly, superlative most rankly)

comparative more rankly · superlative most rankly

  1. In a rank manner.

    Certainly no pages could seem to the censor more rankly blasphemous.

    1907, James George Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Osiris, page 22

Origin

  1. Old Englishranclīċe“showily; boldly”
  2. Middle Englishrankli
  3. Englishrankly

From Middle English rankli, ronkly, from Old English ranclīċe (“showily; boldly”), equivalent to rank + -ly. Cognate with Icelandic rakklega (“boldly; valiantly”).

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Karlyn
Cite this entry
APA

rankly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rankly

MLA

“rankly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rankly. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rankly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rankly.

Source: rankly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.