Dangerously

How to spell dangerously

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce dangerously

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dangerously mean?

1. adverbIn a way that exposes someone or something to harm, risk, or peril.

Dangerously in a sentence

• The driver was travelling dangerously fast on the icy road.

• The ladder was leaning dangerously close to the open window.

Where does dangerously come from?

Language of origin: French

This adverb is built on the noun danger, which English took from Old French dangier in the 1200s. The Old French word originally meant 'power' or 'lordship', and behind it stands the Vulgar Latin form dominiarium, ultimately from the Latin dominus, meaning 'lord' or 'master'. The early sense was about being in someone's power or at their mercy, and only later did it shift toward the modern idea of exposure to harm or peril. The adjective dangerous added the Latin-derived suffix -ous (meaning 'full of'), and the adverb dangerously then added the native English -ly. The spelling trap lives in the unstressed middle: the 'ger' keeps a soft g, and the -ous syllable is reduced to a faint 'us' sound that tempts writers to drop or alter a letter.

How the word is built

• danger (peril)
• -ous (full of, adjective suffix)
• -ly (adverb suffix)