Seemingly

How to spell seemingly

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce seemingly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does seemingly mean?

1. adverbAs it appears on the surface, though perhaps not in reality.

Seemingly in a sentence

• The negotiations stalled over a seemingly minor clause in the contract.

• He answered every question with seemingly effortless calm.

Where does seemingly come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

This word is built on the verb 'seem', which English took from the Old Norse verb 'sœma', meaning 'to conform to' or 'to honour', closely tied to the adjective 'sœmr', meaning 'fitting' or 'becoming'. Norse settlers brought the word into northern English during the Viking age, and by the Middle English period 'seem' had settled into its modern sense of 'to appear to be'. From there speakers formed the present participle 'seeming' and then added the common adverb ending '-ly' to produce 'seemingly', recorded from around the fourteenth century with the meaning 'as far as can be judged from appearances'. The spelling is straightforward once you remember it is just 'seem' plus '-ing' plus '-ly', so the doubled 'e' of 'seem' is fully preserved and no letters are dropped. The same Norse root also gave English the now rare adjective 'seemly', meaning decent or proper.

How the word is built

• seem (to appear)
• -ing (present participle)
• -ly (adverb suffix)