English edit

Etymology 1 edit

From person +‎ -ly. Compare Dutch persoonlijk (personal), German persönlich (personal), Swedish personlig (personal). See also personlike.

Adjective edit

personly (comparative more personly, superlative most personly)

  1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a person; personal; personlike.
    • 1975, The University bookman, a quarterly review - Volumes 16-20 - Page 59:
      Teachers and students alike have chosen the purified and enriched over the old prejudice-encrusted diction. They find that liberated English not only strikes a personly blow against fascism and obscurantism, but also that the slight difficulties created by the new forms are more than compensated for by their simple elegance.
    • 1984, The Panjab past and present - Volume 18 - Page 92:
      The author has not recorded when he wrote the original account. But from the text, which is expressly based on the personly information of the author and that of other reliable persons mentioned therein, it may be presumed that the narrative was put down soon after the actual happenings—some time between 1845 and 1846 A.D.
    • 2010, William F. Buckley, Jr., Linda Bridges, Roger Kimball, Athwart History:
      Chins Up! Be Personly!

Etymology 2 edit

From person +‎ -ly or as a variation or personally. Compare Middle English personely.

Adverb edit

personly (comparative more personly, superlative most personly)

  1. (nonstandard) Alternative form of personally
    • 1860, Laws of Washington - Page 212:
      If the executor or administrator resides without the county, absconds or conceals himself, so that citation cannot be personly served, and shall neglect to render an account within thirty days after having been committed, [...]
    • 1956, Donald Elder, Ring Lardner: a biography - Page 174:
      Personly I will not express no opinion as some of my best friends is umpires, but will merely state that I started out of the press box the instant it was over and by the aid of a powerful candle which I genally[sic] always carry to world serious games [...]
    • 1997, Ring Lardner, Jonathan Yardley, Selected Stories:
      Speaking for myself personly I never felt better in my life and you know what that means Al.
    • 2012, Jeff Silverman, Classic Golf Stories:
      I dont[sic] know how bad his irons will have to get before he will think they have went[sic] wrong on him but personly if I made some of the tee shots he made today I would certainly consider some kind of change of weppons.[sic]

Anagrams edit