Mainly
adverbFor the most part; chiefly or primarily.
How to spell mainly
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce mainly
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does mainly mean?
- adverbFor the most part; chiefly or primarily.
Mainly in a sentence
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The report deals mainly with last year's sales figures.
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Our customers are mainly small businesses in the region.
Where does mainly come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
This word is built from the adjective 'main' plus the adverb-forming suffix '-ly'. The adjective 'main' descends from the Old English 'maegen', meaning 'physical strength, force, or power', and it was reinforced by the related Old Norse 'megn', meaning 'strong' or 'mighty'. For centuries 'main' carried that sense of force, surviving in phrases such as 'with might and main', before it settled into its modern meaning of 'chief' or 'principal'. The suffix '-ly' comes from the Old English '-lice', a native ending that turns adjectives into adverbs of manner. So 'mainly' literally means 'in the chief way', and because both parts are solid Germanic stock, the spelling is regular: keep the 'main' whole and simply add '-ly', which avoids the temptation to drop a letter at the join.
How the word is built
- main (chief, principal)
- -ly (adverb suffix)
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