dernly en · ADV
Etymology
From dern + -ly.
Meanings
- (obsolete) Secretly.
-
(obsolete) Sternly, imposingly.
next stroke him should haue slaine, / Had not the Lady, which by him stood bound, / Dernely vnto her called to abstaine […]
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- (obsolete) Sorrowfully; grievously.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more dernly | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most dernly | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |