Partly

How to spell partly

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce partly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does partly mean?

1. adverbTo some extent but not completely; in part.

Partly in a sentence

• The delay was partly due to the weather and also to staffing shortages.

• Her decision to move was partly about money and also about family.

Where does partly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from the noun 'part', which came into English from the Latin 'pars' (genitive 'partis'), meaning 'a piece, share, or portion'. The Latin word reached English partly through Old French 'part' and partly directly through the early medieval church, and it had taken root by the time of Old English. To make an adverb, English added the native suffix '-ly', a very old Germanic ending that originally meant something like 'having the form or manner of'. So 'partly' literally describes something done or true 'in part' rather than wholly. The same 'pars' root sits inside a whole family of familiar words such as 'party', 'partial', 'particle', and 'depart', all of which carry the sense of a piece broken off from a larger whole.

How the word is built

• part (a portion, piece)
• -ly (adverb suffix)