Lousily

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner indicative of incompetence or dissatisfaction, often resulting in an unsatisfactory experience or outcome
2. Done in a manner that suggests poor quality or effort
3. Performed with little care or skill leading to unsatisfactory results

Etymology: "Lousily" is an inflected form of "lousy" with the adverb-forming suffix "-ly" added to it. The base word "lousy" traces back to the Proto-Germanic root "*līkaz," meaning "body" or "form," which also gave English the suffix "-ly" through the Old English "-līċe," itself a descendant of the same root. So the adverb is a body-shape word twice over: its ending and its stem both carry the old sense of "like" or "in the manner of," which later came to mean "in the way of." The suffix followed a familiar path. In Old English "-līċe" attached to adjectives to form adverbs, and by Middle English it had softened into "-ly." Speakers were free to attach it to nearly any adjective, which is why "lousy" could take it so easily. The base adjective "lousy," meaning "infested with lice," is the older and more literal sense, and the figurative meaning of poor quality grew out of it. "Lousily" carries that figurative sense: work done in a manner that is poor or careless.

Synonyms: badly, poorly

Antonyms: well