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Home > Words for Granted > Episode 50: -ly (Adverbial Suffix)
Podcast: Words for Granted
Episode:

Episode 50: -ly (Adverbial Suffix)
Category: Society & Culture
Duration: 00:23:14
Publish Date: 2018-06-30 10:48:54
Description:

The -ly suffix is a contraction hiding in plain sight. It is cognate with the word "like," and indeed, it literally means "like." "Sadly" is sad-like. "Madly" is mad-like. Amazingly, both "like" and "-ly" derive from a root word meaning "body or corpse." Over the course of this episode, we try to make sense of this semantic evolution. 
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