Errantly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a fashion that is marked by inaccuracies or misunderstandings
2. Done in a way that deviates from what is correct or expected
3. Performed with errors or wandering from truth or accuracy

Etymology: "Errantly" is simply "errant" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added, so its story is really the story of "errant." That adjective came into English from Old French "errant," the present participle of "errer," meaning to wander or travel, which descends from Latin "iterare," to journey again. The sense of wandering in a physical way came first: an errant knight was one who roamed in search of adventure, and the same idea of straying from a set course is what later turned into moral and factual error. From that root, "errantly" carries the meaning of doing something while straying from the proper path. Its sense of moving aimlessly becomes a sense of going wrong, so a sentence describing something done errantly suggests a line that has drifted off its intended course, whether that means a misdirected action or a claim that misses the truth.

Synonyms: wrongly, misguidedly, waywardly

Antonyms: correctly, properly, aptly