steadily

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English steady

Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der.

Proto-Germanic *līkąder.

Proto-Germanic *-līkaz

Proto-Germanic *-ê

Proto-Germanic *-līkê

Proto-West Germanic *-līkē

Old English -līċe

Middle English -ly

English -ly

English steadily

From steady + -ly.

Pronunciation

• enPR: stĕdʹĭli, IPA^(key): /ˈstɛdɪli/

• Audio (US):

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Adverb

steadily (comparative more steadily, superlative most steadily)

1. In a steady manner; with a steady progression.
   • 1956 April, H. A. Vallance, “To Oslo via Stavanger”, in Railway Magazine, page 219:

     The last 61 miles of the journey, from Kongsberg to Oslo, are through much less mountainous country. The railway curves sharply away from the Lågan^[sic], and descends steadily, and in places steeply, past the head of Lake Fiskerumvatn to Hokksund, where the connecting line to the Bergen-Oslo Railway at Hønefoss diverges.

   • 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 281:

     She lisped slightly, little-girlish, looking at him still while drinking whisky steadily from a full glass.

   • 1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 18:

     It grew steadily colder and presently a mushroomy sort of smell came up from the darkness.

Derived terms

• unsteadily

Translations

in a steady manner

• Arabic: بثبات
• Esperanto: firme, persiste (eo)
• Hungarian: egyenletesen (hu)
• Swedish: städse (sv)

Anagrams

• diastyle, silyated