hourly

the word 'hourly' is a transparent english formation, combining the noun 'hour' with the productive suffix '-ly'. the root 'hour' traces back to ancient greek 'hōra', which originally denoted a fixed period of time or season, a concept adopted into latin as 'hora' specifically for a 60-minute division of the day. the adjectival and adverbial suffix '-ly' is of germanic origin, from old english '-līc', meaning 'body, form', and used to create words meaning 'having the form or character of'. thus, 'hourly' literally means 'having the character of an hour', which evolved to signify recurrence or measurement per hour, a logical extension from the base unit of time.

Structure: hour (time unit) + ly (adjective/adverb suffix) hour (from old french 'hore', from latin 'hora', from greek 'hōra', meaning 'season, hour'); ly (from old english '-līc', meaning 'having the qualities of', forming adjectives and adverbs)