Freakishly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that is remarkably unusual and generates disbelief
2. In a manner that is strikingly odd or abnormal beyond what is typical
3. Characterized by an exceptional and surprising deviation from the norm

Etymology: "Freakishly" is simply "freakish" plus the adverb ending "-ly," which in English has long been attached to adjectives to turn them into manner adverbs. The adjective "freakish" is built from "freak" with the suffix "-ish," meaning "having the qualities of," so "freakish" describes something with the character of a freak. The Old English "-līce" that lies behind "-ly" is itself a descendant of a Germanic word for "body" or "form," which is why "-ly" once carried the sense of "in the form of" before it became a mere adverbial marker. The noun "freak" is the more puzzling part. It appears in English in the 1500s as "frek" and then "freke," and it is related to the Old English adjective "frec," meaning "greedy" or "bold." Its sense of a sudden, capricious whim, which seems to be the root of the later "freak of nature," developed from that older idea of unpredictability. "Freak" in the sense of an unusual or deformed creature came later, and the adverb inherits that sense of the strange and unexpected.

Synonyms: strangely, oddly