266: -ly Aug 31, 2015

Many children are taught that to think of adverbs as (an adjective) + 'ly', and although this is not close to the truth, there is a reason. Some adjectives are made into adjectives by taking a noun and adding 'ly', such as 'sisterly'. This is due to the Old English suffix '-līc', which just means 'like', and in that respect is very similar to how people use adjectives today. The creation of adverbs originates from the similar Old English suffix, '-līce'.