Alienly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that is strange, foreign, or not typical
2. Acting or seeming in an unusual or unfamiliar way
3. Expressed in a way that feels odd, different, or out of place

Etymology: "Alienly" is a plain combination of "alien" and the adverb-forming suffix "-ly," and the suffix does most of the work here. "Alien" comes from Latin "alienus," meaning "belonging to another," and it entered English through Old French, where it kept the sense of something foreign or belonging elsewhere. The "-ly" ending traces back to a Germanic word meaning "body" or "form," which over the centuries became Old English "-līce," the marker of manner, as in "in the manner of." So "alienly" literally means "in the manner of something alien." The meaning is therefore built directly into the parts: something done in the manner of what is foreign, strange, or not belonging. The adverb is a modern formation, so it is not a word with a long documented history of its own, but it follows the same pattern as countless other English adverbs built from adjectives plus "-ly."

Synonyms: strangely, unfamiliar, foreignly

Antonyms: familiar, domestically, naturally