Etymograph

English

honestly

Honestly comes from Middle English honestly ‘honourably, respectfully, nobly’, and goes back to honeste.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500honeste1‘honourable’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500honestly2‘honourably’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1843honestly2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English honestly
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English honestly
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1843, Thomas Carlyle, chapter XIII, Democracy: “You honestly quit your tools; quit a most muddy…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500honesteWiktionary, Middle English honestly‘honourable’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500honestlyWiktionary, English honestly‘honourably’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1843honestlyWiktionary, English honestly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1843, Thomas Carlyle, chapter XIII, Democracy: “You honestly quit your tools; quit a most muddy…”

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Today it means

adv In an honest manner.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “honestly”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English honestly. 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 honeste / honestly