Dirtyly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner characterized by dirt or filth; exhibiting uncleanliness; performed in an untidy or grubby way
2. Showing signs of being soiled or stained; acting with grime or impurity; done in a slovenly or messy fashion
3. Done with lack of cleanliness or neatness; involving grime or contamination; carried out in a manner marked by dirt or disorder

Etymology: "Dirtyly" is a nonstandard spelling of "dirtily," the adverb from "dirty." The standard form changes the final "y" to "i" before the suffix "-ly," as in "happily" and "crazily." The suffix itself descends from Old English "-lice," which turned adjectives into adverbs of manner. The base word has a surprising past. "Dirt" entered English in the Middle Ages from Old Norse "drit," which meant excrement, and that was its primary sense for centuries. The meaning of loose earth or grime grew out of that unpleasant core. "Dirty" followed from "dirt" in the late Middle English period, so the adverb's sense of doing something in a grubby manner traces back to a word for waste.

Synonyms: filthily, messily, grubbily, uncleanly

Antonyms: cleanly, neatly, tidily, purely