FromMiddle Englishlyghtly,liȝtliche,lihtliche, fromOld Englishlēohtlīċe, equivalent tolight +-ly.
lightly (comparativelightlierormorelightly,superlativelightliestormostlightly)
- In alight manner.
As a teacher, I don't take rudeness in classlightly.
1907 August,Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VIII, inThe Younger Set, New York, N.Y.:D. Appleton & Company,→OCLC:Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶"I never understood it," she observed,lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney?I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."
