Etymograph

English

strongly

Strongly comes from Old English stranglīċe, strang ‘strong’ + -līċe, from Proto-Germanic *strangaz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- ‘pulled tight’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strengʰ-1‘pulled tight, constricted’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stringaną2‘to tighten, stretch’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*strangaz3‘strong, tight’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*strang4‘strong, severe’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150strang5‘strong’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150stranglīċe2‘strongly’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500strongly2‘strongly’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1897strongly2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *strangaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English strongly
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *strang
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Old English strang
  5. 5 Wiktionary, Old English stranglice
  6. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strengʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *strangaz‘pulled tight, constricted’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*stringanąWiktionary, English strongly‘to tighten, stretch’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*strangazWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *strang‘strong, tight’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*strangWiktionary, Old English strang‘strong, severe’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150strangWiktionary, Old English stranglice‘strong’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150stranglīċeWiktionary, English strongly‘strongly’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500stronglyWiktionary, English strongly‘strongly’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1897stronglyWiktionary, English strongly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, Winston Churchill: “The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ster- ‘stiff, rigid’

still, start, street, stare, stern, stereo, straw, torpedo, cholesterol, starve, throttle, sterile, strenuous, sterility, 18 more

through Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- ‘pulled tight, straight, constricted’

district, stress, strict, string, strain, prestige, strait, 46 more

through Proto-Germanic *strangaz ‘tight, strict, straight’

strengthen, 4 more

through Proto-West Germanic *strang ‘severe, strict, rigorous’

strength, 3 more

Today it means

adv In a strong or powerful manner.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “strongly”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *strangaz, Proto-West Germanic *strang, Old English strang, Old English stranglice. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- / strongly

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