Wordwyrt

sharply

/ˈʃɑːpli/SHAHR-plee
/ˈʃɑɹpli/SHAHR-plee

Meaningin a sharp way

Common meaning: suddenly

Other meanings: harshly; clearly

Journey through time

  1. Old EnglishscearpsourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishsharpsource
  3. Englishsharp‘having a fine edge or point’
  4. Englishformed in English from sharpsharply‘suddenly’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from sharp + -ly.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), SHARP, p.545 · scan

Source words

  • scearp Old English · source word “having a fine edge or point”

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