different between primally vs firstly

English

Etymology

primal +? -ly

Adverb

primally (comparative more primally, superlative most primally)

1. in a primal manner
   • 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness Chapter 9

     As we stepped out into the awesome half-daylight of this monstrous cylinder-bottom—fifty million years old, and without doubt the most primally ancient structure ever to meet our eyes—we saw that the ramp-traversed sides stretched dizzily up to a height of fully sixty feet.

   • 1909, Percival Lowell, The Evolution of Worlds

     The discrepancy is striking and cannot be explained by size, as the smallest are the most massive, and if all were primally of like constitution, should be the least compressed.

English

Etymology

Coined between 1525 and 1535 from first +? -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?f??stli/

Adverb

firstly (not comparable)

1. (formal) In the first place; before anything else; first.

Usage notes

• Whether it is proper to use "firstly", rather than "first", has often been disputed.
  • Beginning in the early 19th century, some have argued against the use of "firstly", advocating the sequence: "First", "secondly", "thirdly", ....
  • The usage of "firstly" is also deprecated by some modern style guides. The Chicago Manual of Style further recommends that all such -ly forms be avoided, and that list items begin only with "first", "second", and so forth.
  • Other authorities disagree.
    • The American Heritage Dictionary comments:

      It is well established that either first or firstly can be used to begin an enumeration: Our objectives are, first (or firstly), to recover from last year's slump.

    • The Oxford English Dictionary notes the dispute but does not pass judgment: "many writers prefer first, even though closely followed by secondly, thirdly, etc."
  • "Firstly" may appear more formal than "first" and is often recommended for the formal enumeration of arguments.

Synonyms

• 1stly, first, first of all, first up; see also Thesaurus:firstly

Translations

See also

• at first
• in the first place

References