Simply

How to spell simply

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce simply

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does simply mean?

1. adverbIn a plain or straightforward way; or used to stress that something is merely or absolutely the case.

Simply in a sentence

• The instructions were written simply so anyone could follow them.

• There was simply no money left in the account by the end of the month.

Where does simply come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin simplus, meaning 'single' or 'onefold', which is related to simplex, the source of our word 'simple'. That Latin family pictured something that has just one fold or layer, as opposed to something complicated or doubled over. The adjective 'simple' entered English through Old French in the 1200s, carrying the sense of plain, uncomplicated, or unadorned. From it English built the adverb 'simply' by adding the native '-ly' ending, which had long been used to turn adjectives into adverbs. Because the base adjective ends in the silent 'e' of 'simple', writers sometimes hesitate over how it joins the suffix; the rule is that the 'le' simply becomes 'ly', giving the doubled-l look of 'simply' rather than 'simplely'.

How the word is built

• simpl- (from Latin simplus: single, plain)
• -ly (adverb suffix)