casuallyadv.
1. † b. Accidentally (= by a mischance). Obsolete.
a. By chance; accidentally.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [adverb]
feringc1000
feringlya1300
by casec1300
chancefully1303
lotc1325
peradventurec1325
of chance1330
happilya1375
in hapa1375
upon hapsa1375
casuallyc1384
perchancec1387
chancely1389
by fortune1390
haplyc1390
by (also of) adventurea1393
percasea1393
adventurelyc1400
percase1402
accidently?a1425
adventurously1440
by (good, lucky, etc.) hap?a1450
accidentally1528
chanceably1559
bechance1569
chance1595
casual-wise1601
accidental1622
occasionally1622
fortuitouslya1652
contingently1668
by chance1669
chanceable1709
per-hazard1788
chance-wise1844
c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame 679 And moo loves casuelly That betyde no man wote why.
1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 174 He homward ayen..Hys journe took, and caswelly To the hyl he neyhyd.
1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII xii By chance negligently or casually.
1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall ii. 24 The Monument of Childerick..casually discovered three years past.
1666 R. Boyle Origine Formes & Qualities 5 Matter barely put into Motion, and then left to it self, should Casually constitute this beautiful and orderly world.
1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 64 If the Clouds moved casually.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > [adverb] > by mischance
casuallyc1405
mishaply1485
misadventurously1632
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale (Hengwrt) (1872) l. 4291 Casuelly the shippes bome rente.
1596 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent (rev. ed.) 167 In a fire that casuallie..consumed the Popes owne chamber.
1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World v. ii. §38. 470/2 Basilius..was..casually killed by a Stag.
2. Without design or previous intention; as it happens or happened; by mere chance.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adverb] > in unplanned manner
suddenly1340
of unwarninga1400
on, upon, rarely of, in (a) suddenty1469
casuallya1549
extemporea1556
of (upon) this sudden1572
extemporally1577
at (the or a) volley1578
on (or o') the volley1578
extrumpery1582
unpremeditately1607
extemporary1610
extempory1623
extemporarily1667
impromptu1669
ad aperturam libri1679
unpremeditatedly1694
impulsively1768
extemporaneously1791
promiscuously1791
spontaneously1799
on (also upon) the spur of the moment (or occasion, etc.)1801
spontaneous1810
promiscuous1826
improvisedly1851
off-handedly1876
at the first jet1878
off the cuff1927
off the top of one's head1939
off the wall1966
a1549 A. Borde Fyrst Bk. Introd. Knowl. (1870) 205 Casually going over the bredge..I dyd mete with ix Englyshe..parsons.
1627 W. Duncomb tr. V. d'Audiguier Tragi-comicall Hist. our Times ii. 24 With whom Lisander casually being.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iv. 294 All men, who..had been casually present in the Hall.
1828 C. Lamb Poor Relations in Elia 2nd Ser. 149 He casually looketh in about dinner time.
3. Incidentally, by the way, in a chance way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [adverb] > incidentally or by the way
incidently1529
occursively1592
emergently1660
en passant1665
incidentally1665
incidentarilya1670
casually1697
promiscuously1791
overly1825
promiscuous1826
1697 C. Leslie Snake in Grass (ed. 2) 366 The Joint Answers of the Quakes..is not only Casually mention'd, but particularly insisted upon.
1794 W. Paley View Evidences Christianity I. i. iii. 64 Grounds of argument..casually and undesignedly disclosed.
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect ii. ii. 465 A word casually spoken..will often revive a stream of recollections.
1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xvii. 381 Shiloh is casually mentioned.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adv.c1384