earnesty
English edit
Etymology edit
Attested since at least the 1500s,[1] from earnest + -y. Modern uses may be modelled on honest→honesty.
Noun edit
earnesty (uncountable)
Usage notes edit
- Now generally supposed to be an error by non-native speakers.
- Many occurrences are typos of the adverb earnestly.
References edit
- ^ Bryan A[ndrew] Garner (2016) “*earnesty”, in Garner’s Modern English Usage, 4th edition, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 314, column 2: “This word, as a synonym of earnestness, is listed in the OED with only two citations—from 1572 and 1591. One might have thought it to be long obsolete, but it still sometimes appears.”