Etymograph

English

badly

Badly comes from Middle English badly.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500badly1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1958badly1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English badly
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1958, 'Borderer', Ten Years of British Railways: “The task was made trebly difficult, however, by the…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500badlyWiktionary, English badly
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1958badlyWiktionary, English badly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1958, 'Borderer', Ten Years of British Railways: “The task was made trebly difficult, however, by the…”

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Today it means

adv In a bad manner.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “badly”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English badly / badly