Google Ngrams shows that it's being used. However, some people disagree on the matter.
Is "halfly" a word? If not, what's an alternative?
Example sentence:
I lied to her. Well, only halfly. I was indeed sick.
Best Answer
OED tells us that it is an adverb with the meaning of "half", but that it is obsolete:
Obs.
= half adv.
c1480 (▸a1400) St. Ninian 1418 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 344 Til hyme, þat halfly-slepand lay.
1565 J. Hall Hist. Expost. in tr. Lanfranc Most Excellent Woorke Chirurg. sig. Dddv, Thine arte is halflye wunne.
1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxiv. 83 So holy that him there, they halfely deifide.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 167 This is what it is halfly.
The most recent citation is from 1674, but it has happened before that words thought to be obsolete are revived or evolve anew from familiar forms. If singly and on(e)ly are adverbs, it is no stretch to grant halfly the same label.
Jiggle is a certain movement which is caused by an external force which causes a random or pseudo-random movement. Imagine a car driving on a bumpy road, things that might jiggle in the car are
jello on a plate jiggles
the surface of a cup of coffee jiggles
a woman's breasts jiggle( not initiated by the woman, see below )
When things jiggle they usually remain attached.
Wiggle means not in a straight line. If something has a wiggle in it, it means it curves back and forth (not to be confused with "meandering"). Wiggle can also mean a certain non-straight motion within in a small space, sometimes to create more space.
Wiggling is usually caused by the thing that wiggles.
worms wiggle
paths wiggle, The Wiggle wiggle wire
a woman's toes wiggle( initiated by the woman )
When wanting to have less constraints or rules, one can ask for
I’ve never encountered any references that suggest that grossingly can be viewed as a legitimate construction. In every similar context to your proposed use that I’ve seen, either sickeningly or disgustingly has been used.
I’m guessing that you derived your example from the phrase gross out, which is slang for disgust (as used as a verb), with some intensification that normally can’t easily be expressed.
Best Answer
OED tells us that it is an adverb with the meaning of "half", but that it is obsolete:
The most recent citation is from 1674, but it has happened before that words thought to be obsolete are revived or evolve anew from familiar forms. If singly and on(e)ly are adverbs, it is no stretch to grant halfly the same label.