Beorhtlice

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a bright, radiant, or splendid manner, as the Old English adverb for shining with light or glory
2. Shining brilliantly or in a glorious, illustrious way, as used in Old English texts
3. With brightness or radiance, describing something that gleams or is splendidly manifest in Old English

Etymology: Old English "beorhtlice" is the adverb of "beorht," meaning bright, shining, or clear, and it follows the common pattern of adding "-lice" (from "lic," meaning body or form) to an adjective to turn it into an adverb, much as modern English adds "-ly." So the word literally means "in a bright manner." Its sense was closer to "brilliantly" or "splendidly" than to the modern idea of light itself. Old English writers used it for things that shone, but also for fine, excellent, or glorious behaviour, and this moral and aesthetic colouring of "bright" runs through the family of words built on the same root. The word has no modern survival in English. It was eventually lost as the -lice adverbs gave way to the -ly ending, leaving "brightly" as its descendant. Its Germanic relatives in other languages show the same pattern, which is why the root is so widely traced.