hardlyadv.

Brit.

/ˈhɑːdli/, U.S.

/ˈhɑrdli/

Forms: see hard adj. and n. and -ly suffix²; also Old English heartlice (Northumbrian), early Middle English hærdeliche, early Middle English harliche, Middle English harly, Middle English harlyth (transmission error), 1900s– 'eardly (English regional (Lincolnshire)).

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with or formed similarly to Middle Dutch hardelīke violently, harshly, sternly (Dutch hardelijk ), Old Saxon hardlīko sternly (Middle Low German hardelīk , hartlīk much, vigorously, violently, zealously), Old Icelandic harðliga forcibly, sternly, swiftly, fast < the Germanic base of hard adj. + the Germanic base of -ly suffix². Compare hard adv. and also Old English heardlic (adjective) stern, severe, harsh, bold, warlike, excessive.Some forms with medial -e- could alternatively be taken as showing hardily adv., which shows partial semantic overlap with the present word.

1. With energy, force, or strenuous exertion; vigorously; violently. Now archaic and rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adverb]

hardlyeOE

strongeOE

hardOE

fastOE

starklyOE

stalworthlyc1175

starkc1225

mainlyc1300

fellc1330

snellc1330

stout1338

wightlya1340

sadlya1375

sharplyc1380

tough1398

stoutly1399

throa1400

wighta1400

lustilyc1400

sorec1400

vigourslyc1400

stiff1422

vigoriouslya1450

vigorouslya1450

actuallya1470

stourlyc1480

forcely?a1500

lustly1529

fricklyc1540

dingilya1555

livelily?1565

crankly1566

forcibly1578

crank1579

wightily?a1600

proudly1600

energetically1609

stiffly1623

ding-dong1628

greenly1633

hard and fast1646

slashingly1659

thwackingly1660

warmlya1684

robustly1709

sonsily1729

forcefullya1774

vim1843

zippily1924

vibrantly1926

punchily1934

zingily1951

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iv. xiii. 113 Hit biþ..geornlic þæt mon heardlice gnide þone hnescestan mealmstan æfter þæm þæt he þence þone soelestan hwetstan on to geræceanne.

OE Battle of Maldon (1942) 261 Ongunnon þa hiredmen heardlice feohtan.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8334 Samuel þat sweord an-hof & hærdeliche adun sloh.

c1300 St. Christopher (Harl.) 82 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 62 He..step hardeliche & faste.

a1450 York Plays (1885) 380 (MED) Lay on hym þan hardely, And garre hym gang his gate.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxv. 327 Lay on hym hardely And make hym go his gate.

1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere vi. p. cclxix When thou seest my soule hange on the hedge then hurle stonys at yt hardly and spare not.

1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 528 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 276 Stryk Stryk herdely for now is tyme to the.

1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 48 The Lamprey caught fast hold on his hand, byting hardly.

1713 G. Berkeley in Guardian 18 May 2/1 I..drink stale Beer the more hardly, because, unless I will, no Body else does.

1818 M. W. Shelley Frankenstein I. iv. 102 My pulse beat so quickly and hardly, that I felt the palpitation of every artery.

1887 T. P. Bunting Life J. Bunting II. xvi. 165 Gallard..laboured hardly and successfully in some of the leading Circuits of the Connexion.

1912 Christian Advocate 20 June 901/1 A ragged weed, A goldenrod,..fought hardly for life.

†2. Boldly, courageously; rashly; presumptuously. Cf. hardily adv. 1a. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > courage > daring > [adverb]

hardlyOE

daringly1605

OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) anno 1016 Hi oft rædlice on þa buruh fuhton, ac hi him heardlice wiðstodon.

OE Ælfric Let. to Sigeweard (De Veteri et Novo Test.) (Laud) 35 He [sc. Saul]..þæt folc bewerode wið þa hæþenan leoda..heardlice mid wæmmum.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) 333 (MED) Me seli meiden hu derstu nu hondlin me ant halden me swa hardeliche.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 196 Ha..þe wið þullich gest hardeliche ne fechteð.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 12953 Hardli [Fairf. baldeli] he ȝode him nere.

c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 14 (MED) Þan is he a gret fool..þat, witynge hardeliche [1340 Ayenbite hardiliche], euele dispendeþ þe goodes þat beþ nouȝt his.

1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) viii. 194 Lete vs goo to it hardly, For we durste well assaylle the devylle, when ye be wyth vs.

1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xl. f. 109 Speake hardely thy mynde.

1575 T. Tymme tr. A. Marlorat Catholike & Eccles. Expos. Iohn ii. 47/1 Did Christ therefore come vnto the mariage that by his example he might teache children hardlye and vnreuerentlye to behaue them selues towardes theyr Parentes?

a1626 L. Andrewes XCVI Serm. (1629) 146 Neither bow your knee, nor uncover your head, but keep on your hatts, and sitt even as you do hardly.

3. With severity or rigour; harshly, cruelly, sorely; strictly. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > severity > [adverb]

heavilyc897

sharplyc900

hardeOE

sharpc1000

sorec1000

hardlyOE

etelichec1175

sorelyc1275

straita1300

sourc1300

grievously1303

drearilya1400

foullya1400

felly?c1400

snapelyc1420

durely1477

penallya1500

shrewlya1529

shrewdlyc1533

asperously1547

heinouslya1555

sensibly1613

instantly1638

shrowardly1664

severelya1682

atrociously1765

punishingly1839

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adverb]

sternlyc897

sharplyc900

stitha1000

hardlyOE

starklyOE

sterna1175

stithlya1300

hardilyc1300

ruggedlya1382

austerely?a1400

smartlya1400

unsternlya1400

acerbly?a1425

brussly1481

sore1484

shrewdly1490

dourlya1500

severely1548

roundly1567

severe1599

strictly1602

fiercely1611

Draconically1641

rugged1661

OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Corpus Cambr.) iv. xxvi. 356 His yrre samnunga us geþreage..oð[ð]e to ecre forwyrde heardlice [eOE Tanner heardwendlice; L. districtius] gedeme.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1095 Se cyng..wearð wið hine swiðe astyrod..& heardlice bead gif he griðes weorðe beon wolde þet he to Pentecosten to hired come.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 208 Hi ne acsede naȝt wisliche... And þeruore he ham ansurede..hardliche [a1225 Vices & Virtues harde].

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cxxx. 158 He is hardely matched, wherfore he hathe nede of your ayde.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 190 Two Bishops and an Abbot..were hardly and streightly kept in strong prison so long as the king lyued.

1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 51 The vnconstant people..now began to speake hardly of him.

a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) i. 32 Being shipped at Deep the Sea used us hardly.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xii. 183 How is it, Sir, that this poor man..is used thus hardly?

1853 A. J. Morris Business i. 10 Conscience is hardly bestead by the demands of life.

1886 Law T. 20 Feb. 283/2 The rule worked hardly.

1901 Calcutta Rev. July 177 Thinking he was hardly dealt with the Curate wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

1940 C. Headlam Diary 31 Dec. in S. Ball Parl. & Politics in Age Churchill & Attlee (1999) vi. 234 We can only grit out teeth and make up our minds to stick to it, however hardly we may be tried.

4. With or by means of toil or a struggle; in a manner that involves suffering, hardship, austerity, or discomfort. Now somewhat rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > adversity > [adverb] > in or with hardship

hardlyOE

uneasilyc1290

uneath1590

OE Homily (Hatton 114) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 284 And se man, se ðe wile on ælce tid heardlice and forwernedlice lyfigean, se bið fulfremed.

a1325 St. Thomas Becket (Corpus Cambr.) l. 1146 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 647 Al bi water wende To an ermitage of Se[m]pringham..Þare he bileuede hardeliche þreo dawes iwis.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xlj Cornyshmen..gate their lyuyng hardly by minynge and diggyng tynne and metall.

1566 J. Martiall Replie to Calfhills Blasphemous Answer vii. f. 175 They lodged hardly, you very delicately, they lyued continently, you very licentiously.

1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) ii. 118 The Husbandmen live hardly.

1653 J. Davies tr. C. Sorel Extravagant Shepherd xi. 9 If sometimes I have fared hardly, since he came to Hircans I live like a little Prince.

1705 tr. W. Bosman New Descr. Coast of Guinea viii. 108 The Money we get here is indeed hardly enough acquired.

1712 S. Sewall Diary 17 June (1973) II. 692 Mr. White condescending to ride before, sitting hardly.

1843 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Clive in Crit. & Hist. Ess. III. 174 What is made is slowly, hardly, and honestly earned.

1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. i. 5 He was held in high respect; for they knew that he lived hardly, as they lived.

1941 E. F. Dick Vanguards of Frontier ii. 64 Horses often fared hardly at the hands of the trappers.

1994 P. D. James Original Sin xix. 126 He was..ashamed of himself for despising what had been so hardly won.

†a. By degrees, little by little, gradually. Obsolete. rare.Only in Old English in the interlinear gloss to the Lindisfarne Gospels (rendering Latin paulatim).

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > gradual change > [adverb]

hardlyOE

graduately1628

gradually1646

transititiously1652

gradatively1818

transitionally1832

one-on-one1860

gradationally1864

OE (Northumbrian) Epist. Eusebius of Caesarea to Carpianus 9 Paulatim incipiens a primo dein secundo postremo tres et per ordinem librorum finem usque progrediens : heartlice uel lyt huon onginnes from forma æfter ðon ðy æfterra siðða ðrea & ðerh endebrednisse ðara bocana ende wið foregaes uel gefæres.

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark (headings to readings) xxv Caecum paulatim curat et ut nemini diceret imperat : ðone blindo heartlice gemeð & þæt nængum cuoeða uel cuoede geheht uel hæt.

b. Not easily or readily; with difficulty. Now archaic and rare, except as implied in sense 8.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > difficulty > [adverb] > with difficulty

uneathc888

arvethlichec1000

uneathsc1200

hardc1300

albusyc1325

wondsomely?a1400

hardlya1425

narrowlyc1450

unreadilyc1454

a-pain1487

uneasily1600

scarce1667

scarcely1697

ill1832

a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 23^v Egre, hardely.

c1450 Treat. Fishing in J. McDonald et al. Origins of Angling (1963) 143 (MED) Yf þe angler take þe fysche hardly, þen ys þer no man meryer þen he is in hys sprites.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Wisd. ix. 16 Very hardly can we discerne the thinges that are vpon earth.

1582 Bible (Rheims) Luke xviii. 24 How hardly [Tyndale, Great, Geneva, with what difficulty] shal they that haue money enter into the kingdom of God?

1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales iv. xvi. 116 Vnto whom, accesse was hardliest obtained.

1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine ii. xiii. 270 Bitumen..quickly kindled, hardly quenched.

1686 G. Burnet Lett. Present State Italy iii. 123 When it hath rained ever so little..the Carts go deep, and are hardly drawn.

1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 306 Easily provoked and hardly pacified.

1847 J. Keble Serm. Academical & Occas. i. 17 The rock, to which Solomon hardly won his way after many hard conflicts.

1871 A. C. Swinburne in Every Sat. 8 Apr. 334/1 Hardly we saw the high moon hanging Heard hardly through the windy night Far waters ringing.

a1973 J. R. R. Tolkien Silmarillion (1977) 273 Isildur came at last hardly back to Rómenna and delivered the fruit to the hands of Amandil.

†6. Firmly, strongly, so as not to be dislodged; steadfastly, with firm resolve. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > stability, fixity > [adverb]

groundlya1225

hardlyc1225

steevely1340

immovably1435

fixedly1605

certainlya1616

inveterately1645

incontrollably1646

rockily1846

chronically1854

c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) l. 312 Hald herdeliche [c1225 Bodl. 34 hardiliche] on þet tu hauest bigunnen.

a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 119 Herdeliche [?c1225 Cleo. Hardiliche, c1230 Corpus Cambr. Hardiliche] ileueð þet al þe deofles strencðe melteð þuruh ðe grace of þe holi sacrament.

a1500 (?c1400) Earl of Toulous l. 228 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) I. 390 (MED) Y schall be trewe..Hardely tryste to mee!

1537 M. Coverdale tr. A. Osiander How Christen Man flye Horrible Plage sig. Cvii He wyll be y^e same that we maye hardely truste vnto: seyenge he can not nor wyll fayle vs, & that because he is no earthly but an heauenly father.

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil Descr. Liparen in tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis 95 In brest of the Godesse Gorgon was cocketed hardlye.

1652 tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote (new ed.) i. iv. viii. f. 92^v Hee ran out to overtake him, or see wherein hee might know him; but could neither compasse the one or the other, by reason that Leonela embracing him hardly, with-held him.

†7. In parenthetical use: certainly, assuredly, by all means. Cf. hardily adv. 2. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > making certain, assurance > [adverb]

iwis?c1160

sickerlyc1175

wisc1175

wislyc1200

i-witterlic1275

sickerc1275

certc1300

hardilyc1300

hardlya1325

certain1330

tristilya1350

certainlya1375

redelya1375

redilya1375

surelyc1380

hand in handa1382

righta1393

assuredlya1400

surea1400

naturallyc1425

in certc1440

ascertainly1477

soverly1513

perqueer1568

really1604

assurelya1626

just1687

pos1710

besure1743

verdad1928

a1325 St. Theophilus (Corpus Cambr.) l. 129 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 225 (MED) ‘A Leuedy, merci,’ quaþ Theophele, ‘vnworþe icham..such ssrift to him do.’ ‘Ȝuse, hardeliche [c1300 Laud hardiliche],’ quaþ oure Leuedy, ‘for he is milde & softe’.

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2803 (MED) Noþeles, y sey hardly, ȝyf þou vowe to do foly..God wyl nat þou hold yt so.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 270 She nolde I dar seyn hardelye [Fr. certes] Hir owne fadir farede [read ferde] well.

a1529 J. Skelton Phyllyp Sparowe (?1545) sig. A.viii No no syr hardely.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 32 Þou hardly no hede of þi hele toke..When þou entrid our Ile.

a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) i. ii. sig. B.ij Yea now hardly lette me alone.

1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxiv. 514 Elect him Consull hardly, and good leave have you.

a. To an insignificant degree; scarcely, barely; not quite; almost not at all.Now the usual sense.Occasionally with negative constructions, now nonstandard (since, in this use, hardly functions as a semi-negative adverb: cf. barely adv. 5, little adv. 1b, scarcely adv. 2).In early use not always clearly distinguished from sense 5b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > barely, scarcely, only, or just

uneathc1200

scarcely1297

albusyc1325

onlepyc1350

anerly1381

barec1400

scarce1413

scantlyc1440

narrowlyc1450

scant1492

barelya1513

hardly?1532

faintly1544

nakedly1589

just1603

rawly1607

just1627

badly1715

scrimp1756

bare-weighta1763

scrimplya1774

jimp1814

jistc1820

?1532 Glasse of Truthe sig. F2^v Hit is hardelye possible for any man to endite or conuey any worke of suche sorte, that no man shall fynde a faute therin specially captious folke & maligners.

1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India Pref. sig. aavj It hardelye agreeth with the principles of Philosophie & common experience.

1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 89 All which will hardly amount to fower score pounds.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 142 When Day broke I could hardly believe my Eyes.

1712 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 301 The Book hath taken wet, and the Letters..are hardly visible.

1786 F. Burney Court Jrnls. & Lett. (2011) I. 115 Others..plumpt down on both knees, & could hardly get up again.

1810 J. A. De Luc in Jrnl. Nat. Philos. Oct. 82 The pile produces the same effects with so small a quantity of the [electric] fluid, as to be often hardly sufficient to move the gold leaf electroscope.

1887 Law Times 82 205/2 A cautiousness which is hardly distinguishable from timidity.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 757/1 The water was hardly fit to drink.

1949 M. L. Darling At Freedom's Door 213 There is one feature of village life which is so universal that I have hardly mentioned it—the dung cakes.

1971 D. E. Westlake I gave at Office (1972) 192 We was in two trucks, packed in tight so you couldn't hardly sit down noplace.

2000 N.Y. Times 1 Aug. e3/5 Spanish is hardly spoken in Trinidad anymore.

b. Expressing stronger negation or denial: not, not at all; not exactly; (as a reply or retort) no; not likely. Cf. scarcely adv. 2a. I hardly think so: I doubt it very much.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > not at all

neverOE

nathemorea1200

hardly1631

1631 T. Heywood Fair Maid of West: 2nd Pt. i. sig. C4 I am to sollicite Spencer To lie with the Moors Queen; a businesse, Besse Will hardly thank me for: but howsoever I have undertane it.

1692 W. Walsh Lett. & Poems Pref. sig. A3 Tho' we can hardly deny 'em to have Wit; yet we can say, at least, that we are sorry they have it.

1740 T. Lediard German Spy (ed. 2) xxix. 270 I allow the Trade of the latter to be much more inconsiderable than that of the former, but I hardly imagine the Difference to be 500 to one.

1783 Ld. Hailes Disquis. Antiq. Christian Church i. 2 We can hardly place it earlier.

1860 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing (rev. ed.) viii. 114 I need hardly say that a patient's bed should never have its side against the wall.

1895 A. W. Pinero Second Mrs. Tanqueray i. 3 Aubrey: Cayley won't turn up now. Jayne: H'm, hardly.

1911 Secret Service 24 Nov. 7/1 Are we,..well knowing..the hatred he bears us, going to meet the man at night in ‘Little Africa?’ I hardly think so.

1941 J. Agee & W. Evans Let us now praise Famous Men 133 It should hardly be called a ‘barn’ it is too thin an excuse for one.

1977 Age (Melbourne) 18 Jan. 15/5 Who do you suppose pays for the $50 billion difference? The tooth fairy? Hardly.

2000 T. Robbins Fierce Invalids 336 It's hardly headline news that the corporate state and its media are using the latest gadget-com and gimmick-tech to dumb us down.

c. Only a very short time beforehand; only just.

ΚΠ

1652 F. Kirkman tr. Famous Hist. Amadis de Gaule vi. xxvii. 138 He had hardly remounted on horseback when the Enemies marched a great pace towards them.

1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 193. ⁋1 I had hardly entered the Room, when I was accosted by Mr. Thomas Dogget.

1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison IV. xvi. 127 The Earl took me out: But we had hardly done, when..he and all but my cousins and Emily, called out for Sir Charles to dance with me.

1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. viii. 178 Morris, whose scattered wits had hardly yet re-assembled themselves.

1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People ii. §7. 100 A year had hardly passed.

1910 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. 19 June 6/2 Hardly had she said the word when the hog's pudding was frizzling in the pan on the fire before her.

1942 Fortune Nov. 122/2 The Brothers Van Sweringen..had hardly acquired control of the road..when the railroads took their terrible dive.

2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 5 July 57/1 But having hardly crossed the French border line, we were changed into ‘boches’.

9. In close proximity, either in space or (occasionally) time; closely, nearly. Cf. hard adv. 6a. Now archaic and rare.Apparently not recorded in 18th cent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > distance > nearness > [adverb] > nearly or closely

nighlyOE

nighc1387

throng?a1425

justc1440

narrowly1487

foot-hot1513

meeta1522

hardly1554

fastlings1568

nearly1569

neara1592

close1596

closely1634

nicely1690

narrow1697

snugly1800

snug1831

tight1888

1554 J. Proctor Hist. Wyates Rebellion sig. I.vi The light horsemen who so hardly persued the tayle of his bande, that they slewe many, hurte more, and toke moost of them.

1584 T. Churchyard Scourge for Rebels sig. B4 About the twentieth of September laste, Desmounde beyng hardly followed by certaine Kearnes appoynted by the L. General to serue against that traytour.

1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 35 They were so hardly pursued.

a1646 A. Henderson Serm. (1867) 251 Pressing hardly towards the mark.

1880 Daily News 12 Nov. 2/1 They are hardly run by some of the English Potteries.

1893 L. Wallace Prince of India I. iii. xviii. 319 ‘We were to set out in return about noon, were we not?’ ‘About noon, Your Majesty.’ ‘Well, the hour is hardly upon us. Let the man appear.’

1912 D. Hannay Sea Trader vii. 154 The coxswain,..seeing us hardly pursued, and we waving to have the boat sheer in..fell to leeward of us.

Phrases

P1.

a. hardly a: almost no, barely one single. Cf. scarcely adv. 2a.

ΚΠ

1534 T. Paynell tr. Moche Profitable Treat. against Pestilence sig. A.viii Hardly a man shall eyther by herbes, or any other medycine restore the bodye to his fyrste condytyon and estate agayne.

a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1667 (1955) III. 478 The cold so intense, as hardly a leafe on a tree.

1710 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 20 July (1965) I. 45 There is hardly a character in the World more Despicable or more liable to universal ridicule than that of a Learned Woman.

1780 Mirror No. 94 Hardly a single house did I find inhabited by the same persons I left in it.

1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 232 We had hardly a moment's intermission from rain.

1898 Cosmopolitan July 322/1 Save for the forge-rooms where the metals are heated, or annealed,..there is hardly a spot without its machine of some sort.

1928 G. B. Shaw Intell. Woman's Guide Socialism i. 2 Laws..are amended and amended and amended like a child's knickers until there is hardly a shred of the first stuff left.

1966 Evening News 17 Nov. 10/5 Hardly a week goes by without a report of drug-taking and ‘fix’ parties among teenagers.

2011 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 57/1 Hardly a story about North Korea appears..that hasn't either originated in, or been confirmed by outlets like the Daily NK or Open Radio North Korea.

b. hardly any: almost no; (in pronominal use) almost none.

ΚΠ

1568 T. North tr. A. de Guevara Dial Princes (rev. ed.) iv. xii. f. 140^v Hardly any man obteyneth the end of his suyt..without grete dyligence and paynfull toyle.

1576 H. Gilbert Disc. Discov. New Passage Cataia v. sig. E.ii Hardly any ship..can come into our westerne Ocean, thorow that fret, from the west Seas of America.

1614 G. Markham 2nd Bk. Eng. Husbandman ii. iii. 62 The smooth, small, long Plants..haue put out hardly any branches.

1684 tr. T. Bonet Guide Pract. Physician xiv. 502 Hardly any would spurt out of the opened Vein.

1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World i. 7 Expressions full of contempt of the Commission, making it appear as a thing of hardly any validity or consequence.

1775 S. Johnson Let. 26 July (1992) II. 256 I believe she has had hardly any fruit but Gooseberries.

1809 Ann. Rev. & Hist. Lit. 1808 573/1 Hardly any of the most undoubtedly legitimate representators of our noblest families now knows of his existence .

1841 T. De Quincey Style: No. IV in Blackwood's Mag. Feb. 216/1 With a life of leisure—but with hardly any books.

1867 Weekly New Mexican 23 Feb. 1/4 There are hardly any persons in this part of the country, who are able to raise money enough to work quartz-veins.

1907 J. H. Poynting in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 14 749 Prof. Lowell..pays hardly any attention to the ‘blanketing effect’..of the atmosphere.

1957 E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 II. 635 There are parallels enough for isolative raisings occurring in spite of, but hardly any for a combinative raising because of, a following r.

2006 Daily Tel. 30 Oct. 6/1 Hardly any area of family life would be exempt from the new eco-taxes.

P2. hardly ever: very rarely; almost never.

ΚΠ

1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxv. 181 If you enter not a Terrier before he be a yeare old, you shall hardly euer make him take the earth.

1615 T. Adams Blacke Devill 14 Pollicy and Piety haue parted company; and it is to be feared, they will hardly euer meete againe.

1662 J. Joseph Salmasius 264 The Libeller sayes, what malefactour might not pleade the like, if his Crymes have made all men his Enemies. But there were hardly ever such malefactours.

a1713 Ld. Shaftesbury Let. Conc. Design in Characteristicks (1715) III. 405 What is in the Beginning set wrong by their example, is hardly ever afterwards recoverable in the Genius of a Nation.

1772 J. Wesley Let. 16 June (1931) V. 322 That remedy..hardly ever fails to relieve..the severest bilious colic.

1828 Yankee May 174/3 A native Yankee..would never be the first to strike a blow, nor hardly ever the first to clinch, as he calls it.

1864 A. B. Longstreet Master William Mitten iv. 37 You hardly ever leave the house in the day time, while you often take recreation-rambles at night.

1909 Photo-era Mag. July 10 Full color-correction is hardly ever necessary in landscape work.

1952 G. F. Hervey & J. Hems Freshwater Trop. Aquarium Fishes 200 In the wild they are prolific breeders, but in captivity they hardly ever breed.

2012 G. Dolman Eighth Circle of Hell ii. 8 She has never—well, hardly ever—shown any degree of recklessness.

Compounds

Combining with participles to form adjectives, as hardly contested, hardly earned, hardly labouring, hardly used, etc.

ΚΠ

1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall ii. f. 121 A hardly clymed hill.

1625 K. Long tr. J. Barclay Argenis iii. xii. 190 Tokens of his hardly-remoued sicknesse.

1649 Perfect Weekly Acct. 3 Oct. 629 They have purchased their Debentures at such inconsiderable rates,..to the utter frustrating the souldier of his hardly earned, long-expected, and by you fully intended reward.

1694 tr. E. Benoist Hist. Famous Edict of Nantes I. viii. 460 The hardly extinguish'd hatred of the Catholics.

1768 Woman of Honor II. 201 I think I see the hardly suppressed swell of face of one of those immortal geniuses.

1773 T. Leland Hist. Ireland I. iv. 111 It was now peculiarly mortifying to find himself obliged to abandon this hardly acquired conquest.

1809 Parl.Reg. I. 399 Do you not know how to pronounce the name of your particular friend, whom you represented as a hardly-used man?

1858 M. Oliphant Laird of Norlaw II. 31 Many a hardly-labouring soul, full of generous plans and motives, has seen a stranger enter into its labours.

1882 ‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. 34 With her hardly-earned gains.

1888 Spectator 28 July 1036/1 The hardly veiled didacticism of novels like those of Miss Edgeworth.

1930 N.Y. Times 1 Aug. 24 Great Neck received that advantage and managed to earn seven goals in a hardly contested match.

1952 C. P. Blacker Eugenics: Galton & After 282 Each hardly-won improvement in human conditions.

1980 Cincinnati Mag. Mar. 40/4 You can sell those hardly worn items through this shop.

2000 J. J. Connolly Layer Cake (2004) 262 He left eighty grand in bricks of cash lining the sides of a drawer..in a hardly used upstairs boxroom.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	hardly
释义	hardlyadv. Brit. /ˈhɑːdli/, U.S. /ˈhɑrdli/ Forms: see hard adj. and n. and -ly suffix²; also Old English heartlice (Northumbrian), early Middle English hærdeliche, early Middle English harliche, Middle English harly, Middle English harlyth (transmission error), 1900s– 'eardly (English regional (Lincolnshire)). Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with or formed similarly to Middle Dutch hardelīke violently, harshly, sternly (Dutch hardelijk ), Old Saxon hardlīko sternly (Middle Low German hardelīk , hartlīk much, vigorously, violently, zealously), Old Icelandic harðliga forcibly, sternly, swiftly, fast < the Germanic base of hard adj. + the Germanic base of -ly suffix². Compare hard adv. and also Old English heardlic (adjective) stern, severe, harsh, bold, warlike, excessive.Some forms with medial -e- could alternatively be taken as showing hardily adv., which shows partial semantic overlap with the present word. 1. With energy, force, or strenuous exertion; vigorously; violently. Now archaic and rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adverb] hardlyeOE strongeOE hardOE fastOE starklyOE stalworthlyc1175 starkc1225 mainlyc1300 fellc1330 snellc1330 stout1338 wightlya1340 sadlya1375 sharplyc1380 tough1398 stoutly1399 throa1400 wighta1400 lustilyc1400 sorec1400 vigourslyc1400 stiff1422 vigoriouslya1450 vigorouslya1450 actuallya1470 stourlyc1480 forcely?a1500 lustly1529 fricklyc1540 dingilya1555 livelily?1565 crankly1566 forcibly1578 crank1579 wightily?a1600 proudly1600 energetically1609 stiffly1623 ding-dong1628 greenly1633 hard and fast1646 slashingly1659 thwackingly1660 warmlya1684 robustly1709 sonsily1729 forcefullya1774 vim1843 zippily1924 vibrantly1926 punchily1934 zingily1951 eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iv. xiii. 113 Hit biþ..geornlic þæt mon heardlice gnide þone hnescestan mealmstan æfter þæm þæt he þence þone soelestan hwetstan on to geræceanne. OE Battle of Maldon (1942) 261 Ongunnon þa hiredmen heardlice feohtan. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8334 Samuel þat sweord an-hof & hærdeliche adun sloh. c1300 St. Christopher (Harl.) 82 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 62 He..step hardeliche & faste. a1450 York Plays (1885) 380 (MED) Lay on hym þan hardely, And garre hym gang his gate. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xxv. 327 Lay on hym hardely And make hym go his gate. 1533 T. More 2nd Pt. Confut. Tyndals Answere vi. p. cclxix When thou seest my soule hange on the hedge then hurle stonys at yt hardly and spare not. 1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 528 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 276 Stryk Stryk herdely for now is tyme to the. 1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 48 The Lamprey caught fast hold on his hand, byting hardly. 1713 G. Berkeley in Guardian 18 May 2/1 I..drink stale Beer the more hardly, because, unless I will, no Body else does. 1818 M. W. Shelley Frankenstein I. iv. 102 My pulse beat so quickly and hardly, that I felt the palpitation of every artery. 1887 T. P. Bunting Life J. Bunting II. xvi. 165 Gallard..laboured hardly and successfully in some of the leading Circuits of the Connexion. 1912 Christian Advocate 20 June 901/1 A ragged weed, A goldenrod,..fought hardly for life. †2. Boldly, courageously; rashly; presumptuously. Cf. hardily adv. 1a. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > courage > daring > [adverb] hardlyOE daringly1605 OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) anno 1016 Hi oft rædlice on þa buruh fuhton, ac hi him heardlice wiðstodon. OE Ælfric Let. to Sigeweard (De Veteri et Novo Test.) (Laud) 35 He [sc. Saul]..þæt folc bewerode wið þa hæþenan leoda..heardlice mid wæmmum. c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) 333 (MED) Me seli meiden hu derstu nu hondlin me ant halden me swa hardeliche. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 196 Ha..þe wið þullich gest hardeliche ne fechteð. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 12953 Hardli [Fairf. baldeli] he ȝode him nere. c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 14 (MED) Þan is he a gret fool..þat, witynge hardeliche [1340 Ayenbite hardiliche], euele dispendeþ þe goodes þat beþ nouȝt his. 1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) viii. 194 Lete vs goo to it hardly, For we durste well assaylle the devylle, when ye be wyth vs. 1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xl. f. 109 Speake hardely thy mynde. 1575 T. Tymme tr. A. Marlorat Catholike & Eccles. Expos. Iohn ii. 47/1 Did Christ therefore come vnto the mariage that by his example he might teache children hardlye and vnreuerentlye to behaue them selues towardes theyr Parentes? a1626 L. Andrewes XCVI Serm. (1629) 146 Neither bow your knee, nor uncover your head, but keep on your hatts, and sitt even as you do hardly. 3. With severity or rigour; harshly, cruelly, sorely; strictly. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > severity > [adverb] heavilyc897 sharplyc900 hardeOE sharpc1000 sorec1000 hardlyOE etelichec1175 sorelyc1275 straita1300 sourc1300 grievously1303 drearilya1400 foullya1400 felly?c1400 snapelyc1420 durely1477 penallya1500 shrewlya1529 shrewdlyc1533 asperously1547 heinouslya1555 sensibly1613 instantly1638 shrowardly1664 severelya1682 atrociously1765 punishingly1839 the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adverb] sternlyc897 sharplyc900 stitha1000 hardlyOE starklyOE sterna1175 stithlya1300 hardilyc1300 ruggedlya1382 austerely?a1400 smartlya1400 unsternlya1400 acerbly?a1425 brussly1481 sore1484 shrewdly1490 dourlya1500 severely1548 roundly1567 severe1599 strictly1602 fiercely1611 Draconically1641 rugged1661 OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Corpus Cambr.) iv. xxvi. 356 His yrre samnunga us geþreage..oð[ð]e to ecre forwyrde heardlice [eOE Tanner heardwendlice; L. districtius] gedeme. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1095 Se cyng..wearð wið hine swiðe astyrod..& heardlice bead gif he griðes weorðe beon wolde þet he to Pentecosten to hired come. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 208 Hi ne acsede naȝt wisliche... And þeruore he ham ansurede..hardliche [a1225 Vices & Virtues harde]. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cxxx. 158 He is hardely matched, wherfore he hathe nede of your ayde. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 190 Two Bishops and an Abbot..were hardly and streightly kept in strong prison so long as the king lyued. 1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 51 The vnconstant people..now began to speake hardly of him. a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) i. 32 Being shipped at Deep the Sea used us hardly. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xii. 183 How is it, Sir, that this poor man..is used thus hardly? 1853 A. J. Morris Business i. 10 Conscience is hardly bestead by the demands of life. 1886 Law T. 20 Feb. 283/2 The rule worked hardly. 1901 Calcutta Rev. July 177 Thinking he was hardly dealt with the Curate wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury. 1940 C. Headlam Diary 31 Dec. in S. Ball Parl. & Politics in Age Churchill & Attlee (1999) vi. 234 We can only grit out teeth and make up our minds to stick to it, however hardly we may be tried. 4. With or by means of toil or a struggle; in a manner that involves suffering, hardship, austerity, or discomfort. Now somewhat rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > [adverb] > in or with hardship hardlyOE uneasilyc1290 uneath1590 OE Homily (Hatton 114) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 284 And se man, se ðe wile on ælce tid heardlice and forwernedlice lyfigean, se bið fulfremed. a1325 St. Thomas Becket (Corpus Cambr.) l. 1146 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 647 Al bi water wende To an ermitage of Se[m]pringham..Þare he bileuede hardeliche þreo dawes iwis. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xlj Cornyshmen..gate their lyuyng hardly by minynge and diggyng tynne and metall. 1566 J. Martiall Replie to Calfhills Blasphemous Answer vii. f. 175 They lodged hardly, you very delicately, they lyued continently, you very licentiously. 1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) ii. 118 The Husbandmen live hardly. 1653 J. Davies tr. C. Sorel Extravagant Shepherd xi. 9 If sometimes I have fared hardly, since he came to Hircans I live like a little Prince. 1705 tr. W. Bosman New Descr. Coast of Guinea viii. 108 The Money we get here is indeed hardly enough acquired. 1712 S. Sewall Diary 17 June (1973) II. 692 Mr. White condescending to ride before, sitting hardly. 1843 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Clive in Crit. & Hist. Ess. III. 174 What is made is slowly, hardly, and honestly earned. 1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. i. 5 He was held in high respect; for they knew that he lived hardly, as they lived. 1941 E. F. Dick Vanguards of Frontier ii. 64 Horses often fared hardly at the hands of the trappers. 1994 P. D. James Original Sin xix. 126 He was..ashamed of himself for despising what had been so hardly won. 5. †a. By degrees, little by little, gradually. Obsolete. rare.Only in Old English in the interlinear gloss to the Lindisfarne Gospels (rendering Latin paulatim). ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > gradual change > [adverb] hardlyOE graduately1628 gradually1646 transititiously1652 gradatively1818 transitionally1832 one-on-one1860 gradationally1864 OE (Northumbrian) Epist. Eusebius of Caesarea to Carpianus 9 Paulatim incipiens a primo dein secundo postremo tres et per ordinem librorum finem usque progrediens : heartlice uel lyt huon onginnes from forma æfter ðon ðy æfterra siðða ðrea & ðerh endebrednisse ðara bocana ende wið foregaes uel gefæres. OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Mark (headings to readings) xxv Caecum paulatim curat et ut nemini diceret imperat : ðone blindo heartlice gemeð & þæt nængum cuoeða uel cuoede geheht uel hæt. b. Not easily or readily; with difficulty. Now archaic and rare, except as implied in sense 8. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > [adverb] > with difficulty uneathc888 arvethlichec1000 uneathsc1200 hardc1300 albusyc1325 wondsomely?a1400 hardlya1425 narrowlyc1450 unreadilyc1454 a-pain1487 uneasily1600 scarce1667 scarcely1697 ill1832 a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 23^v Egre, hardely. c1450 Treat. Fishing in J. McDonald et al. Origins of Angling (1963) 143 (MED) Yf þe angler take þe fysche hardly, þen ys þer no man meryer þen he is in hys sprites. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Wisd. ix. 16 Very hardly can we discerne the thinges that are vpon earth. 1582 Bible (Rheims) Luke xviii. 24 How hardly [Tyndale, Great, Geneva, with what difficulty] shal they that haue money enter into the kingdom of God? 1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales iv. xvi. 116 Vnto whom, accesse was hardliest obtained. 1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine ii. xiii. 270 Bitumen..quickly kindled, hardly quenched. 1686 G. Burnet Lett. Present State Italy iii. 123 When it hath rained ever so little..the Carts go deep, and are hardly drawn. 1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 306 Easily provoked and hardly pacified. 1847 J. Keble Serm. Academical & Occas. i. 17 The rock, to which Solomon hardly won his way after many hard conflicts. 1871 A. C. Swinburne in Every Sat. 8 Apr. 334/1 Hardly we saw the high moon hanging Heard hardly through the windy night Far waters ringing. a1973 J. R. R. Tolkien Silmarillion (1977) 273 Isildur came at last hardly back to Rómenna and delivered the fruit to the hands of Amandil. †6. Firmly, strongly, so as not to be dislodged; steadfastly, with firm resolve. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > stability, fixity > [adverb] groundlya1225 hardlyc1225 steevely1340 immovably1435 fixedly1605 certainlya1616 inveterately1645 incontrollably1646 rockily1846 chronically1854 c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) l. 312 Hald herdeliche [c1225 Bodl. 34 hardiliche] on þet tu hauest bigunnen. a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 119 Herdeliche [?c1225 Cleo. Hardiliche, c1230 Corpus Cambr. Hardiliche] ileueð þet al þe deofles strencðe melteð þuruh ðe grace of þe holi sacrament. a1500 (?c1400) Earl of Toulous l. 228 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) I. 390 (MED) Y schall be trewe..Hardely tryste to mee! 1537 M. Coverdale tr. A. Osiander How Christen Man flye Horrible Plage sig. Cvii He wyll be y^e same that we maye hardely truste vnto: seyenge he can not nor wyll fayle vs, & that because he is no earthly but an heauenly father. 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil Descr. Liparen in tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis 95 In brest of the Godesse Gorgon was cocketed hardlye. 1652 tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote (new ed.) i. iv. viii. f. 92^v Hee ran out to overtake him, or see wherein hee might know him; but could neither compasse the one or the other, by reason that Leonela embracing him hardly, with-held him. †7. In parenthetical use: certainly, assuredly, by all means. Cf. hardily adv. 2. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > making certain, assurance > [adverb] iwis?c1160 sickerlyc1175 wisc1175 wislyc1200 i-witterlic1275 sickerc1275 certc1300 hardilyc1300 hardlya1325 certain1330 tristilya1350 certainlya1375 redelya1375 redilya1375 surelyc1380 hand in handa1382 righta1393 assuredlya1400 surea1400 naturallyc1425 in certc1440 ascertainly1477 soverly1513 perqueer1568 really1604 assurelya1626 just1687 pos1710 besure1743 verdad1928 a1325 St. Theophilus (Corpus Cambr.) l. 129 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 225 (MED) ‘A Leuedy, merci,’ quaþ Theophele, ‘vnworþe icham..such ssrift to him do.’ ‘Ȝuse, hardeliche [c1300 Laud hardiliche],’ quaþ oure Leuedy, ‘for he is milde & softe’. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2803 (MED) Noþeles, y sey hardly, ȝyf þou vowe to do foly..God wyl nat þou hold yt so. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 270 She nolde I dar seyn hardelye [Fr. certes] Hir owne fadir farede [read ferde] well. a1529 J. Skelton Phyllyp Sparowe (?1545) sig. A.viii No no syr hardely. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 32 Þou hardly no hede of þi hele toke..When þou entrid our Ile. a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) i. ii. sig. B.ij Yea now hardly lette me alone. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxiv. 514 Elect him Consull hardly, and good leave have you. 8. a. To an insignificant degree; scarcely, barely; not quite; almost not at all.Now the usual sense.Occasionally with negative constructions, now nonstandard (since, in this use, hardly functions as a semi-negative adverb: cf. barely adv. 5, little adv. 1b, scarcely adv. 2).In early use not always clearly distinguished from sense 5b. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > barely, scarcely, only, or just uneathc1200 scarcely1297 albusyc1325 onlepyc1350 anerly1381 barec1400 scarce1413 scantlyc1440 narrowlyc1450 scant1492 barelya1513 hardly?1532 faintly1544 nakedly1589 just1603 rawly1607 just1627 badly1715 scrimp1756 bare-weighta1763 scrimplya1774 jimp1814 jistc1820 ?1532 Glasse of Truthe sig. F2^v Hit is hardelye possible for any man to endite or conuey any worke of suche sorte, that no man shall fynde a faute therin specially captious folke & maligners. 1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India Pref. sig. aavj It hardelye agreeth with the principles of Philosophie & common experience. 1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 89 All which will hardly amount to fower score pounds. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 142 When Day broke I could hardly believe my Eyes. 1712 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 301 The Book hath taken wet, and the Letters..are hardly visible. 1786 F. Burney Court Jrnls. & Lett. (2011) I. 115 Others..plumpt down on both knees, & could hardly get up again. 1810 J. A. De Luc in Jrnl. Nat. Philos. Oct. 82 The pile produces the same effects with so small a quantity of the [electric] fluid, as to be often hardly sufficient to move the gold leaf electroscope. 1887 Law Times 82 205/2 A cautiousness which is hardly distinguishable from timidity. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 757/1 The water was hardly fit to drink. 1949 M. L. Darling At Freedom's Door 213 There is one feature of village life which is so universal that I have hardly mentioned it—the dung cakes. 1971 D. E. Westlake I gave at Office (1972) 192 We was in two trucks, packed in tight so you couldn't hardly sit down noplace. 2000 N.Y. Times 1 Aug. e3/5 Spanish is hardly spoken in Trinidad anymore. b. Expressing stronger negation or denial: not, not at all; not exactly; (as a reply or retort) no; not likely. Cf. scarcely adv. 2a. I hardly think so: I doubt it very much. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > not at all neverOE neverOE nathemorea1200 hardly1631 1631 T. Heywood Fair Maid of West: 2nd Pt. i. sig. C4 I am to sollicite Spencer To lie with the Moors Queen; a businesse, Besse Will hardly thank me for: but howsoever I have undertane it. 1692 W. Walsh Lett. & Poems Pref. sig. A3 Tho' we can hardly deny 'em to have Wit; yet we can say, at least, that we are sorry they have it. 1740 T. Lediard German Spy (ed. 2) xxix. 270 I allow the Trade of the latter to be much more inconsiderable than that of the former, but I hardly imagine the Difference to be 500 to one. 1783 Ld. Hailes Disquis. Antiq. Christian Church i. 2 We can hardly place it earlier. 1860 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing (rev. ed.) viii. 114 I need hardly say that a patient's bed should never have its side against the wall. 1895 A. W. Pinero Second Mrs. Tanqueray i. 3 Aubrey: Cayley won't turn up now. Jayne: H'm, hardly. 1911 Secret Service 24 Nov. 7/1 Are we,..well knowing..the hatred he bears us, going to meet the man at night in ‘Little Africa?’ I hardly think so. 1941 J. Agee & W. Evans Let us now praise Famous Men 133 It should hardly be called a ‘barn’ it is too thin an excuse for one. 1977 Age (Melbourne) 18 Jan. 15/5 Who do you suppose pays for the $50 billion difference? The tooth fairy? Hardly. 2000 T. Robbins Fierce Invalids 336 It's hardly headline news that the corporate state and its media are using the latest gadget-com and gimmick-tech to dumb us down. c. Only a very short time beforehand; only just. ΚΠ 1652 F. Kirkman tr. Famous Hist. Amadis de Gaule vi. xxvii. 138 He had hardly remounted on horseback when the Enemies marched a great pace towards them. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 193. ⁋1 I had hardly entered the Room, when I was accosted by Mr. Thomas Dogget. 1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison IV. xvi. 127 The Earl took me out: But we had hardly done, when..he and all but my cousins and Emily, called out for Sir Charles to dance with me. 1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. viii. 178 Morris, whose scattered wits had hardly yet re-assembled themselves. 1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People ii. §7. 100 A year had hardly passed. 1910 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. 19 June 6/2 Hardly had she said the word when the hog's pudding was frizzling in the pan on the fire before her. 1942 Fortune Nov. 122/2 The Brothers Van Sweringen..had hardly acquired control of the road..when the railroads took their terrible dive. 2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 5 July 57/1 But having hardly crossed the French border line, we were changed into ‘boches’. 9. In close proximity, either in space or (occasionally) time; closely, nearly. Cf. hard adv. 6a. Now archaic and rare.Apparently not recorded in 18th cent. ΘΚΠ the world > space > distance > nearness > [adverb] > nearly or closely nighlyOE nighc1387 throng?a1425 justc1440 narrowly1487 foot-hot1513 meeta1522 hardly1554 fastlings1568 nearly1569 neara1592 close1596 closely1634 nicely1690 narrow1697 snugly1800 snug1831 tight1888 1554 J. Proctor Hist. Wyates Rebellion sig. I.vi The light horsemen who so hardly persued the tayle of his bande, that they slewe many, hurte more, and toke moost of them. 1584 T. Churchyard Scourge for Rebels sig. B4 About the twentieth of September laste, Desmounde beyng hardly followed by certaine Kearnes appoynted by the L. General to serue against that traytour. 1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 35 They were so hardly pursued. a1646 A. Henderson Serm. (1867) 251 Pressing hardly towards the mark. 1880 Daily News 12 Nov. 2/1 They are hardly run by some of the English Potteries. 1893 L. Wallace Prince of India I. iii. xviii. 319 ‘We were to set out in return about noon, were we not?’ ‘About noon, Your Majesty.’ ‘Well, the hour is hardly upon us. Let the man appear.’ 1912 D. Hannay Sea Trader vii. 154 The coxswain,..seeing us hardly pursued, and we waving to have the boat sheer in..fell to leeward of us. Phrases P1. a. hardly a: almost no, barely one single. Cf. scarcely adv. 2a. ΚΠ 1534 T. Paynell tr. Moche Profitable Treat. against Pestilence sig. A.viii Hardly a man shall eyther by herbes, or any other medycine restore the bodye to his fyrste condytyon and estate agayne. a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1667 (1955) III. 478 The cold so intense, as hardly a leafe on a tree. 1710 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 20 July (1965) I. 45 There is hardly a character in the World more Despicable or more liable to universal ridicule than that of a Learned Woman. 1780 Mirror No. 94 Hardly a single house did I find inhabited by the same persons I left in it. 1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 232 We had hardly a moment's intermission from rain. 1898 Cosmopolitan July 322/1 Save for the forge-rooms where the metals are heated, or annealed,..there is hardly a spot without its machine of some sort. 1928 G. B. Shaw Intell. Woman's Guide Socialism i. 2 Laws..are amended and amended and amended like a child's knickers until there is hardly a shred of the first stuff left. 1966 Evening News 17 Nov. 10/5 Hardly a week goes by without a report of drug-taking and ‘fix’ parties among teenagers. 2011 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 57/1 Hardly a story about North Korea appears..that hasn't either originated in, or been confirmed by outlets like the Daily NK or Open Radio North Korea. b. hardly any: almost no; (in pronominal use) almost none. ΚΠ 1568 T. North tr. A. de Guevara Dial Princes (rev. ed.) iv. xii. f. 140^v Hardly any man obteyneth the end of his suyt..without grete dyligence and paynfull toyle. 1576 H. Gilbert Disc. Discov. New Passage Cataia v. sig. E.ii Hardly any ship..can come into our westerne Ocean, thorow that fret, from the west Seas of America. 1614 G. Markham 2nd Bk. Eng. Husbandman ii. iii. 62 The smooth, small, long Plants..haue put out hardly any branches. 1684 tr. T. Bonet Guide Pract. Physician xiv. 502 Hardly any would spurt out of the opened Vein. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World i. 7 Expressions full of contempt of the Commission, making it appear as a thing of hardly any validity or consequence. 1775 S. Johnson Let. 26 July (1992) II. 256 I believe she has had hardly any fruit but Gooseberries. 1809 Ann. Rev. & Hist. Lit. 1808 573/1 Hardly any of the most undoubtedly legitimate representators of our noblest families now knows of his existence . 1841 T. De Quincey Style: No. IV in Blackwood's Mag. Feb. 216/1 With a life of leisure—but with hardly any books. 1867 Weekly New Mexican 23 Feb. 1/4 There are hardly any persons in this part of the country, who are able to raise money enough to work quartz-veins. 1907 J. H. Poynting in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 14 749 Prof. Lowell..pays hardly any attention to the ‘blanketing effect’..of the atmosphere. 1957 E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 II. 635 There are parallels enough for isolative raisings occurring in spite of, but hardly any for a combinative raising because of, a following r. 2006 Daily Tel. 30 Oct. 6/1 Hardly any area of family life would be exempt from the new eco-taxes. P2. hardly ever: very rarely; almost never. ΚΠ 1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lxv. 181 If you enter not a Terrier before he be a yeare old, you shall hardly euer make him take the earth. 1615 T. Adams Blacke Devill 14 Pollicy and Piety haue parted company; and it is to be feared, they will hardly euer meete againe. 1662 J. Joseph Salmasius 264 The Libeller sayes, what malefactour might not pleade the like, if his Crymes have made all men his Enemies. But there were hardly ever such malefactours. a1713 Ld. Shaftesbury Let. Conc. Design in Characteristicks (1715) III. 405 What is in the Beginning set wrong by their example, is hardly ever afterwards recoverable in the Genius of a Nation. 1772 J. Wesley Let. 16 June (1931) V. 322 That remedy..hardly ever fails to relieve..the severest bilious colic. 1828 Yankee May 174/3 A native Yankee..would never be the first to strike a blow, nor hardly ever the first to clinch, as he calls it. 1864 A. B. Longstreet Master William Mitten iv. 37 You hardly ever leave the house in the day time, while you often take recreation-rambles at night. 1909 Photo-era Mag. July 10 Full color-correction is hardly ever necessary in landscape work. 1952 G. F. Hervey & J. Hems Freshwater Trop. Aquarium Fishes 200 In the wild they are prolific breeders, but in captivity they hardly ever breed. 2012 G. Dolman Eighth Circle of Hell ii. 8 She has never—well, hardly ever—shown any degree of recklessness. Compounds Combining with participles to form adjectives, as hardly contested, hardly earned, hardly labouring, hardly used, etc. ΚΠ 1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall ii. f. 121 A hardly clymed hill. 1625 K. Long tr. J. Barclay Argenis iii. xii. 190 Tokens of his hardly-remoued sicknesse. 1649 Perfect Weekly Acct. 3 Oct. 629 They have purchased their Debentures at such inconsiderable rates,..to the utter frustrating the souldier of his hardly earned, long-expected, and by you fully intended reward. 1694 tr. E. Benoist Hist. Famous Edict of Nantes I. viii. 460 The hardly extinguish'd hatred of the Catholics. 1768 Woman of Honor II. 201 I think I see the hardly suppressed swell of face of one of those immortal geniuses. 1773 T. Leland Hist. Ireland I. iv. 111 It was now peculiarly mortifying to find himself obliged to abandon this hardly acquired conquest. 1809 Parl.Reg. I. 399 Do you not know how to pronounce the name of your particular friend, whom you represented as a hardly-used man? 1858 M. Oliphant Laird of Norlaw II. 31 Many a hardly-labouring soul, full of generous plans and motives, has seen a stranger enter into its labours. 1882 ‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. 34 With her hardly-earned gains. 1888 Spectator 28 July 1036/1 The hardly veiled didacticism of novels like those of Miss Edgeworth. 1930 N.Y. Times 1 Aug. 24 Great Neck received that advantage and managed to earn seven goals in a hardly contested match. 1952 C. P. Blacker Eugenics: Galton & After 282 Each hardly-won improvement in human conditions. 1980 Cincinnati Mag. Mar. 40/4 You can sell those hardly worn items through this shop. 2000 J. J. Connolly Layer Cake (2004) 262 He left eighty grand in bricks of cash lining the sides of a drawer..in a hardly used upstairs boxroom. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adv.eOE
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