Etymograph

English

fully

Fully comes from Middle English fully, from Old English fullīċe ‘fully’; equivalent to full + -ly.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150fullīċe1‘fully’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fully1‘fully’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1963fully1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English fully
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Margery Allingham, London: Chatto & Windus: “As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy,…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150fullīċeWiktionary, English fully‘fully’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fullyWiktionary, English fully‘fully’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1963fullyWiktionary, English fully. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Margery Allingham, London: Chatto & Windus: “As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy,…”

Linked words

through Old English full

8 more

Today it means

adv In a full manner; without lack or defect; completely, entirely.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fully”. 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 / Old English fullīċe / fully

Shirt and support for this word