Grossly

How to spell grossly

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce grossly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does grossly mean?

1. adverbTo an extreme, glaring, or unacceptable degree.

Grossly in a sentence

• The report concluded that the budget had been grossly underestimated.

• The staff were grossly overworked during the busy season.

Where does grossly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The base word 'gross' came into English in the 1300s from the Old French 'gros', meaning 'big' or 'thick', which in turn descended from the Late Latin 'grossus', meaning 'thick, coarse, or bulky'. From the sense of largeness it developed two streams of meaning: a neutral one of total quantity (as in gross weight or gross income, the whole undivided amount) and a judgemental one of something coarse, excessive, or offensive. The adverb 'grossly' was formed by adding the native English suffix '-ly', and from the start it leaned on the coarse, excessive sense, describing something done to an extreme or obviously wrong degree. The double 's' that catches some writers simply preserves the Latin 'grossus' spelling, while the '-ly' attaches cleanly with no change to the stem. A useful memory aid is that 'gross' keeps its full spelling intact and you merely tack '-ly' onto the end.

How the word is built

• gross (from Latin grossus: thick, coarse, great)
• -ly (adverb suffix)