Richly
adverbIn a way that is abundant, lavish, or fully deserved.
How to spell richly
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce richly
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does richly mean?
- adverbIn a way that is abundant, lavish, or fully deserved.
Richly in a sentence
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The hall was richly decorated for the anniversary dinner.
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After years of effort she had richly earned the promotion.
Where does richly come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
The base word 'rich' descends from the Old English 'rice', meaning 'powerful, mighty, or of high rank', which only later narrowed to the modern sense of 'having much wealth'. That same Germanic root sits behind the German 'reich' (empire or rich) and was reinforced in Middle English by the related Old French 'riche'. The adverb 'richly' was formed within English by adding the native suffix '-ly', built from the Old English '-lice', which originally meant 'in the manner of' and produced countless English adverbs. By the medieval period 'richly' carried the meaning of 'abundantly' or 'lavishly', and it broadened to describe deserving something fully, as in 'richly deserved'. Because the suffix simply attaches '-ly' to the unchanged word 'rich', the spelling stays regular and keeps the 'ch' of its ancient root intact.
How the word is built
- rich (abundant, wealthy)
- -ly (adverb-forming suffix)
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