Equally

How to spell equally

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce equally

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does equally mean?

1. adverbTo the same degree, or in the same way, with no difference between parties or amounts.

Equally in a sentence

• The inheritance was divided equally among the three siblings.

• Both proposals are equally convincing to the review panel.

Where does equally come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin aequalis, meaning 'even', 'level', or 'matching', which was built on aequus, the adjective for 'even' or 'fair'. Latin aequalis passed into Old French and then into Middle English as 'equal' during the 1300s, originally describing things of the same size, quantity, or value. The adverb 'equally' was formed within English by attaching the native suffix '-ly' to the adjective, a pattern English uses freely to turn descriptions into manner adverbs. The same aequus root underlies a whole family of familiar words such as 'equity', 'equator', and 'equilibrium', all carrying the sense of balance or evenness. The spelling trap lies in the join: the adjective already ends in '-al', and adding '-ly' simply doubles the visible 'l', giving the doubled letters that writers sometimes drop.

How the word is built

• equal (from Latin aequalis: even, level)
• -ly (adverb suffix)