Etymograph

English

quickly

Quickly comes from Middle English quykly ‘in a lively way’, from Old English cwiculīċe ‘vigorously, in a living manner’, and ultimately from cwicu ‘alive’.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwicu1‘alive’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwiculīċe2‘vigorously’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quykly2‘in a lively way’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2011quickly2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English cwiculice
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English quickly
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, Chris Bevan, Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham: “Another Karadeniz cross led to Cudicini's first save of…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwicuWiktionary, Old English cwiculice‘alive’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150cwiculīċeWiktionary, English quickly‘vigorously’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quyklyWiktionary, English quickly‘in a lively way’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2011quicklyWiktionary, English quickly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2011, Chris Bevan, Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham: “Another Karadeniz cross led to Cudicini's first save of…”

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Today it means

adv Rapidly; with speed; fast; with expedition.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “quickly”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English cwiculice. 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 cwicu / quickly