verily

Etymology

It is formed from English very + -ly,^[2][3][4][5] first as inherited from Middle English verraily, from verrei (“true, real”).^{[6][7][8][9][10]} The Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English take it as suggested by Old French verraiement, modern vraiment, and by veirement, the Anglo-Norman form.^[11][4] The adjective very comes from Old French verai, from the stem of Latin vērus (“true”).^[2][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Placed before a statement to affirm that it is true: 1303, in R. Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.^[2] Barnhart's first record is the form verraily in the Cursor Mundi, before 1325,^[9] and Etymonline dates the word to about 1300, in the sense "clearly, plainly".^[12]

Semantic evolution

By the early 14th century the adverb meant "in truth", and by the middle of the century also "properly, perfectly" and, as an intensifier, "assuredly".^[12] From the 14th century it rendered amen in English versions of the Bible, following the Latin of the Vulgate and the Greek;^[13] the Wycliffite Bible has "Now I woot verily" in Acts.^[10] In Middle English it could also be an adjective, "true, real", a rare use that died out in the 15th century.^[2][10] From 1490, in Caxton, it was used to strengthen a yes or no.^[2] Johnson (1755) gave two senses, "in truth; certainly" and "with great confidence", quoting Shakespeare and Bacon's "It was verily thought".^[14] The word is now archaic.^[3][11]

Timeline

• 1303 – placed before a statement to affirm its truth, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.^[2]
• before 1325 – the form verraily, in the Cursor Mundi.^[9]
• before 1340 – adjective, true, real (obsolete before 1425).^[2]
• c. 1340 – in truth, really, in Rolle's Pricke of Conscience.^[2]
• c. 1384 – truly, in accordance with the facts, in the Wycliffite Bible.^[10]
• 1490 – stressing a yes or no, in Caxton.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (archaic) In truth; truly, certainly.^{[3][7][11][2]}
2. (archaic) At the start of a statement, stressing that what follows is true: Verily, the hour is late.^[2][3]
3. (archaic) Confidently, really: I verily believe she meant it.^[7][14]

Adjective

1. (obsolete, 1340–1425) True, real.^[2][10]

Related words

• very
• verity
• veritable
• veracious
• verify

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
10. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
11. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
13. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
14. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.