Wholly

How to spell wholly

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce wholly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does wholly mean?

1. adverbCompletely, entirely, or to the full extent.

Wholly in a sentence

• The delay was wholly the fault of the supplier.

• She was wholly satisfied with the renovation work.

Where does wholly come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This adverb is built straightforwardly on the adjective 'whole', which descends from the Old English hal, meaning 'complete', 'unhurt', or 'in good health'. That same Germanic root also gives us 'hale' (as in 'hale and hearty'), 'heal', and 'health', all carrying the idea of being sound and entire. The initial 'w' is a relative latecomer: it crept into the spelling around the fifteenth century, mirroring a regional pronunciation, even though 'whole' had been written without it for centuries. When the adverb suffix -ly was added, the silent 'e' of 'whole' was dropped, leaving a double 'l' where the 'l' of 'whole' meets the 'l' of 'ly'. That doubled 'll' is precisely the spelling trap, since writers often pause over whether it is 'wholy', 'wholely', or 'wholly'; the correct form keeps both l's but loses the e.

How the word is built

• whole (from Old English hal: complete, unhurt, healthy)
• -ly (adverb suffix)

Words that sound like wholly

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• holy: Regarded as sacred, divine, or dedicated to religious worship.