hardly
The origin and history of hardly.
Etymology
From Old English heardlīċe, built from hard + -ly; it originally meant "boldly" or "without ease" before narrowing to today's sense of "barely."
The origin and history of hardly.
From Old English heardlīċe, built from hard + -ly; it originally meant "boldly" or "without ease" before narrowing to today's sense of "barely."