Etymology

Adverbial usage of ferly (adj.); TGD and GDS cp. the ON adv. ferliga.

PGmc Ancestor

(1) *fēr-; (2) *fera; (3) *fer(e)r-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

 ferligr ‘monstrous’; cp. ferliga 'monstrously'
(ONP ferligr (adj.); cp. ferliga (adv.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

OE Cognate

(1)  fǣrlic ‘sudden, unexpected; sudden, rapid (action); accidental’; (2) cp. firen ‘wicked deed, violence, torment’; (3) feorr 'far, removed'

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

DD1c

Attestation

More characteristic of N and E and alliterative texts than ferly (adj.).

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 388, 741, 1694; Cl 269, 960, 975; Erk 46; WA 380, 513, 3189 etc.

Bibliography

MED fērlī (adv.) , OED ferly (adv.) , HTOED , Dance ferly (adv.)