Etymograph

English

straightly

Straightly comes from Middle English streightly.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500streightly1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1526straightly1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English straightly
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “[W]hẽ the vnclene ſpritꝭ ſawe him⸝ they fell doune…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500streightlyWiktionary, English straightly
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1526straightlyWiktionary, English straightly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “[W]hẽ the vnclene ſpritꝭ ſawe him⸝ they fell doune…”

Formed from straight + -ly

Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan ‘to stretch’

Old English streċċan ‘to stretch’

Middle English strecchen ‘to stretch’

Middle English streight ‘straight’

English straight

Every English word from Middle English streightly

Today it means

adv In a straight manner; so as to be straight or aligned; without curve or bend.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “straightly”. 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 streightly / straightly

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