Coarsely

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˈkɔː(ɹ)sli/

Definitions

1. In a way that reflects a rough texture or simplicity without subtlety or refinement
2. In a manner marked by a lack of sophistication or elegance, often appearing raw or unpolished
3. Done with a rough or crude quality, lacking smoothness or finesse

Etymology: "Coarsely" is a simple derivation: the adjective "coarse" plus the adverbial suffix "-ly", which turns a quality into a manner of doing something. Its ancestry is more tangled than that suffix suggests, though. The form that came down to us was once "coursely", and the older Middle English "coursly" did not mean rough at all. It meant "naturally" or "logically", the sense of something happening in the ordinary, expected course of things. The change from "coursely" to "coarsely" reflects the adjective's own shift. "Coarse" was once a near-neighbour of "course" in sense, describing what is ordinary or common, and in time it narrowed toward texture and roughness, and then toward lack of refinement. The adverb followed the adjective's drift, so a word that began by describing how things naturally go now describes how something feels under the hand or how crudely it is made.

Synonyms: roughly, crudely, bluntly

Antonyms: finely, smoothly, delicately