manfully

English

Etymology

From Middle English manfully; equivalent to manful +‎ -ly.

Adverb

manfully (comparative more manfully, superlative most manfully)

1. In a manful manner; with the characteristics considered typical of a man, such as strength, courage, and determination.
   • 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 72:

     […] Apollyon wounded him in his head, his hand and foot; this made Chriſtian give a little back: Apollyon therefore followed his work amain, and Chriſtian again took courage, and reſiſted as manfully as he could.

   • 1859, Anthony Trollope, The Bertrams, page 264:

     She manfully struggled on, however - womanfully would perhaps be a stronger and more appropriate word. She had to calculate not only how to play her own hand correctly, but she had to calculate on her partner's probable errors.

   • 1876, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC:

     One (ant) struggled manfully by with a dead spider five times as big as itself in its arms.

   • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

     "Whilst he was sawing the beam, however, a fire broke out among the debris around him, and though he persevered most manfully, and continued until he was himself badly scorched, it was impossible for him to save Beale, who probably died from suffocation."

   • 1999, John McCain, Faith of My Fathers‎^[1], New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 285:

     YOUR SON WAS SERIOUSLY WOUNDED WHEN SHOT DOWN IN HANOI BUT HAS MADE FINE RECOVERY AND NOW, ACCORDING THIS GROUP, LOOKS "QUITE WELL." HE HAS BEEN EVERYTHING YOU WANT YOUR SON TO BE AND HAS STOOD UP MANFULLY AGAINST ALL EFFORTS TO PERSUADE HIM TO UTTER TRAITOROUS STATEMENTS.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• mannfully, manfulli

Etymology

From manful +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmanful(l)iː/

Adverb

manfully (Late Middle English)

1. Bravely, strongly, daringly, determinedly
2. (rare) In a way that displays nobility or manfulness.

Descendants

• English: manfully

References

• “manfully, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-08-12.