English

Adverb

thusly ‎(not comparable)

1. thus (in this way).
   • 1865, Hingston (ed.), Artemus Ward (His Travels) Among the Mormons,

     Ar, tell me it is not so thusly as this thusness wouldst seem!

   • 1866, Petroleum V. Nasby, Life of Androo Johnson

     His course can only be akkounted for thusly:

   • 1866, Harper's Magazine,

     He had an attack of catarrh not long ago, and it happened, as J. Billings would say, "thusly:"

   • 1893, Isabel Burton, The Life of Captain Sir Richard F. Burton KCMG, FRGS, Vol II:

     Stories never lose anything in the recital, and consequently this one grew thusly.

   • 1995 December, John P. Wiley Jr, quoting Edward R. Harrison, Smithsonian Magazine:

     The history of the Universe has been summed up thusly: "Hydrogen is a light, odorless gas, which, given enough time, turns into people."

   • 1996, Charles Harding, High Rise Dwelling :

     Going thusly, unwillingly at the bell,

     Answering the call to recycle my time.

Usage notes

Although thusly has diffused into popular usage, it may be regarded as incorrect by some; instead, other equivalent expressions (such as thus or this way) can be used.^[1] It originated in the Eastern U.S., and it is still more common in American than British English; it is "often used for amusement or to make an ironic point."^[2]

References

• thusly at OneLook Dictionary Search
• (thusly*1000), thus at Google Ngram Viewer

1. 1 2 American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition (Accessed 2012-01-13)
2. ↑ Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage (2003).