Evidently

How to spell evidently

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce evidently

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does evidently mean?

1. adverbIn a way that is clear or obvious; apparently, judging by what can be seen or inferred.

Evidently in a sentence

• The lights were off and the staff had evidently gone home for the night.

• She had evidently rehearsed the presentation, because every slide flowed without a pause.

Where does evidently come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb traces back to the Latin evidens, an adjective meaning 'clearly visible' or 'obvious', formed from the prefix ex- ('out') and the verb videre ('to see'); the literal sense was that of something seen plainly, standing out for all eyes. From evidens came the noun evidentia, meaning clearness or proof, which is also the ancestor of the English word 'evidence'. English borrowed the family through Old French in the late Middle Ages, and 'evident' was in use by the 1300s with the meaning 'plain to see'. The adverb 'evidently' was built later by adding the native English suffix -ly, and it carries two related shades: 'in a way that is clearly seen' and 'apparently, as it seems'. The same videre root surfaces in many relatives such as 'vision', 'visible' and 'provide', and remembering that the middle of the word is the 'vid' meaning 'see' keeps the single d in place and blocks the urge to insert an extra one.

How the word is built

• e- (from ex-: out)
• vid (from videre: to see)
• -ent (adjective)
• -ly (adverb)