petulantly

the word 'petulantly' originates from the latin adjective petulans, meaning 'impudent' or 'wanton', which itself is derived from the verb petere, 'to attack, seek, or aim at'. this core sense of forward, aggressive seeking evolved in english through french influence into 'petulant', describing an insolent or peevish readiness to take offense. the adverbial form 'petulantly' is constructed by appending the standard english adverb-forming suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'petulant', which already contains the latin-derived '-ant' suffix. thus, the modern meaning captures the manner of behaving with childish irritability and unreasonable complaint, a figurative extension of the original notion of aggressive forwardness.

Structure: petul (impudent) + ant (adjective suffix) + ly (adverb suffix) petul (from latin petulans, meaning 'impudent, forward, wanton', related to petere 'to attack, seek'); ant (a suffix forming adjectives, from latin -ant-, -ent-); ly (a suffix forming adverbs from adjectives, from old english -līce).