quickly (English)

Where does "quickly" come from?

The English adverb 'quickly' descends from the Middle English 'quykly'[1][2], which traces further back to the Old English 'cwiculīċe'[1][2]. This older Old English form was constructed from 'cwicu', meaning 'alive', combined with the suffix '-līċe'[3].

Full etymology tree

• quickly (English), 'Rapidly; with speed; fast; with expedition.'
  • inherited quykly (Middle English), 'In a lively way; actively.'
    • inherited cwiculice (Old English), 'vigorously, in a living manner'
      • affix cwicu (Old English), 'alternative form of cwic'
      • suffix -lice (Old English), '-ly (adverbial suffix)'

Ancestors

• quykly (Middle English)
• cwiculice (Old English)

Descendants and derived words

• as quickly as possible (English)
• death-come-quickly (English)

Sources

1. quickly (English) - Wiktionary
2. quykly (Middle English) - Wiktionary
3. cwiculice (Old English) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris