Grubbily

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that is dirty, messy, or untidy, showing lack of cleanliness or neatness
2. Performing actions with a rough, filthy, or unclean approach, often implying neglect or disorder
3. Done in an unclean and scruffy fashion, lacking care for appearance or hygiene

Etymology: "Grubbily" is simply "grubby" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added, so there is little drama in its history. The adjective "grubby" is built from "grub" (a word for dirt or a small crawling larva, dating back to Old English roots related to digging and scraping) combined with the suffix "-y," meaning "having the quality of." Something grubby is, literally, full of grub, or dirt. The adverb itself comes from the same suffix chain that gives English so many manner adverbs. The "-ly" ending descends from Old English "-līċe," a word closely tied to the noun "līc," meaning body or form, so that "-ly" once carried the sense of "in the likeness of" or "in the manner of." Over centuries the ending was reduced to "-ly" in Middle English, and by adding it to "grubby" English speakers created a way of describing how something is done or looks: in a grubby manner.

Synonyms: messily, untidily, dirty, disorderly, slovenly

Antonyms: neatly, cleanly, tidily, orderly, pristinely