uselessly en · ADV
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃eyt-der.? Proto-Italic *oitōr Latin ūtor Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin ūsus Old French usbor. Middle English use English use Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- Proto-Indo-European *lewHs-der. Proto-Germanic *leusaną Proto-Germanic *lausaz Proto-Germanic *-lausaz Proto-West Germanic *-laus Old English -lēas Middle English -les English -less English useless Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English uselessly From useless + -ly.
Meanings
- In a useless manner.
-
To no useful purpose.
Mr. Civil, warned and guided by distant axe-whangs, had found them, and had been unsparing in his condemnation of Jim's stupid waste of time in coming an unnecessary mile to chop down a tree uselessly far away.
1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 213:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most uselessly | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more uselessly | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Translations (16)
ang unnytlīċe (in a useless manner) · nrf innutilement (to no useful purpose) · fi turhaan (to no useful purpose) · pl bezużytecznie (to no useful purpose) · ca inútilment (in a useless manner) · fi kelvottomasti (in a useless manner) · fi turhasti (in a useless manner) · fr inutilement (to no useful purpose) · es inútilmente (in a useless manner) · chn k'ax̣chi (in a useless manner) · ang unnytlīċe (to no useful purpose) · pl bezużytecznie (in a useless manner) · gd gun fheum (to no useful purpose) · pt inutilmente (in a useless manner) · gd gun fheum (in a useless manner) · enm ydelly (to no useful purpose)