perilouslyadv.
/ˈpɛrᵻləsli/, /ˈpɛrl̩əsli/, U.S. /ˈpɛrələsli/ Causing or involving peril; terribly; dangerously.Now frequently in weakened sense (cf. perilous adj. 1a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [adverb]
perilously1340
wothely?a1400
parlouslyc1425
jeopardouslya1513
dangerously?1544
dangerfully1548
dangerousa1616
badly1673
poisonously1746
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 254 Hy ulyȝþ perilousliche, zuo þet hy hyre spilþ and ualþ ofte into þe grines of þe uoȝelere of helle.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 100 (MED) Thei doon also ful periloseli to hem silf for to make hem so sikir in a feith, eer it be sufficientli tried and proued.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Siege & Conqueste Jerusalem (1893) clxxiv. 258 Wherof cam grete stenche..wherof the ayer was corrupte ouer peryllously.
a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 24 (MED) Ofte tymes þei þat are best in mannys estimacion fallen most perilously for her owne trust.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iv. xx. f. 165v Many do herein perillously erre.
1624 R. Sanderson Serm. I. 112 People, as they are suspicious, will be talking paralously.
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation xl. 413 The Queen fell perillously sick.
1751 D. Mallet Alfred (new ed.) ii. ix. 41 'Tis the dreadful call Of glory, somewhat perilously great, And big with urgent haste, that tears thee from me.
1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son lxi. 611 Shattered in mind, and perilously sick in body.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 596 Head man comes perilously near breaking his neck by frequent falls among the rocks.
1958 J. Wain Contenders vii. 137 This rejoinder..was perilously close to making fun of a dwarf or hunchback.
2002 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 25 Aug. cn7 A deadly ribbon of asphalt twisted through the Cumberland Gap, forcing drivers into perilously sharp turns.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.1340