the adverb 'stubbornly' is built upon the adjective 'stubborn', whose murky origins point to old english. its likely connection is to the notion of a tree stump (stubb), an object immovably fixed in the ground. this literal image of unyielding solidity evolved metaphorically to describe a person's inflexible attitude or resolve. the addition of the productive adverbial suffix '-ly', with a continuous history from old english, simply specifies that an action is performed with such an obstinate quality.

Structure: stubborn + ly - stubborn: of middle english origin, from an unattested old english word styb(e)rn, meaning 'unreasonably obstinate'. the ultimate origin is uncertain but may be related to old english stubb, a tree stump, implying fixedness. - ly: an old english suffix (originally -līc), used to form adverbs from adjectives, meaning 'in a specified manner'.