adv.
Cl seerly (GollCl), Pat serelych
'severally, individually'
(Modern English )Emerson (1919: 496) first suggested emending MS <soerly> at Cl 117 to *serely, which he glosses 'severally, individually'. An adv. ser(e)ly is attested in ME, with a range of senses paralleling and extending those of the ON adv. represented by OIcel serliga 'apart, particularly', either formed on sere (adv., adj.) or derived directly from serliga.
PGmc Ancestor
*sē-z
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
sér 3 pers. sg. reflex. pron. (dat.), adv.; serliga (adv.) 'apart, particularly'
(ONP sik (pron. pers. refl.); serliga (adv.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far sær, Icel sér, Norw sêr, Dan sær, i sær, runic Sw saʀ, Sw i sär
OE Cognate
Phonological and morphological markers
ON reflexive pers. pronominal dative sg. <em>-r</em> < PGmc *<em>-z</em>
Summary category
A2c
Cited by MED from the 14c and 15c, this adv. occurs in a range of texts, most commonly but not exclusively from the N.
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Cl 117; Pat 193
Emerson's (1919: 496-7) rationale for emending MS <soerly> in Cl 117 ('and ay a segge soerly semed by her wedeʒ') is that the subject of the sentence describing the dress and position of various social ranks is plural (ledeʒ in 116) up until the <segge> of 117, and then her wedeʒ is also plural. Thus he argues that two s's have been lost, coalescing with those of the following and preceding words and reads: 'and ay as segges serly semed by her wedeʒ'. This reading is adopted by GollCl (and AW), who further argues that (117n) a spelling <seerly> is also possible and would explain the scribal error. McGee (414), however, considers the emendation 'bad as well as unnescessary' (see further soerly (adj., adv.)) and Anderson (see further 117n) prefers to follow Morris in emending instead to soberly 'dignified' < OFr sobre. Vantuono agrees with Emerson's identification of the word, but maintains the manuscript spelling, citing Emerson's noted parallels in the scribe's spelling of <oe> for <ee> (Vant 117n).