FromMiddle Englishfolysly,folysschly; equivalent tofoolish +-ly.
foolishly (comparativemorefoolishly,superlativemostfoolishly)
- In afoolish manner.
He dressedfoolishly to entertain the children.
1811,[Jane Austen], chapter XVII, inSense and Sensibility […], volume I, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published byT[homas] Egerton, […],→OCLC,page220:I never wish to offend, but I am sofoolishly shy, that I often seem negligent, when I am only kept back by my natural aukwardness.
1820, [Walter Scott], chapter XV, inThe Abbot. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne & Co.] forLongman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and forArchibald Constable and Company, andJohn Ballantyne, […],→OCLC,pages329–330:“Nothing to speak of,” said Adam Woodcock, answering for the boy—“a foolish quarrel with me, which was morefoolishly told over again to my honoured lady, cost the poor boy his place. […]”
- Without good judgment.
Foolishly, he had decided that, because a home was the best investment, two homes were even better.
