greatly

The adverb 'greatly' is a transparent formation from the adjective 'great' and the ubiquitous adverbial suffix '-ly'. The root 'great' originates from the Proto-Germanic grētaz, meaning coarse or thick, a sense which evolved in Old English to denote physical size and, by extension, importance or intensity. The suffix '-ly' descends from the Old English '-līce', akin to the noun 'lic' (body, form), originally meaning "having the body or form of," which grammaticalized into a standard means of creating adverbs from adjectives. Thus, 'greatly' literally means "in a great manner" or "to a great degree," its logic perfectly preserving the straightforward combination of its two constituent morphemes from their Germanic origins into modern English.

Structure: great (large, important) + ly (adverb suffix) - great: From Old English grēat (coarse, thick, massive), of Germanic origin. In this word, it functions as the adjectival root conveying the core meaning of magnitude or degree. - ly: From Old English -līce (forming adverbs from adjectives), of Germanic origin. In this word, it functions as a derivational suffix that converts the adjective 'great' into an adverb.