the adverb 'tersely' derives from its root adjective 'terse', which entered english in the late 16th century from the latin 'tersus', meaning 'wiped clean, polished, neat'. this latin term is the past participle of 'tergere' (to wipe, rub off). the semantic evolution moved from the physical act of polishing or cleaning something to the figurative sense of making language neat and free of superfluous words. the addition of the old english adverbial suffix '-ly' creates the modern form, specifying the manner of speaking or writing in a concise, polished, and abruptly brief way.

Structure: terse (concise) + ly (adverb suffix) - terse: from latin 'tersus' (past participle of 'tergere', meaning to wipe, rub off, polish), functioning as the adjectival root meaning polished, neat, concise. - ly: from old english '-līc', an adverbial suffix meaning 'in a manner of'.