Etymograph

English

literally

Literally comes from Middle English litteraly, equivalent to literal + -ly.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500litteraly1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1827literally1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English literally
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1827, Sir Walter Scott, Appendix to Introduction: “The house was literally electrified; and it was only…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500litteralyWiktionary, English literally
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1827literallyWiktionary, English literally. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1827, Sir Walter Scott, Appendix to Introduction: “The house was literally electrified; and it was only…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with literally, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin littera ‘letter’

13 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adv Without overstatement or understatement, or false or misleading words.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “literally”. 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 litteraly / literally