adj, adv — 3 senses
/ˈɹuːli/
Etymology From Middle English rewly, ruly, rewely, reweliche, from Old English hrēowlīċ (“grievous, pitiful, sad, wretched, cruel”), equivalent to rue + -ly.
Obsolete Pitiable; miserable.
Etymology From Middle English rewly, reoly, reowliche, from Old English hrēowlīċe (“cruelly”), equivalent to rue + -ly.
Obsolete Pitiably; miserably.
Etymology Back-formation from unruly, or perhaps a continuation of Middle English rewly, ruly, reuli (“subject to a religious rule, regular”), equivalent to rule + -ly, rule + -y; or perhaps from Old French rulé, reulé, rieulé (“ruled”), past participle of rieuler (“to rule”). More at rule.
Rare Neat and orderly.
Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.