archlyadv.
/ˈɑːtʃli/, U.S. /ˈɑrtʃli/ In an arch manner; cleverly, waggishly; with good-humoured slyness or sauciness.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > mischievous or practical joking > [adverb]
waggishly1616
archly1712
slyly1837
roguishly1863
1712 tr. H. More Scholia Antidote Atheism 147 in H. More Coll. Philos. Writings (ed. 4) Not wittily or archly feign'd, to amuse withal.
1732 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) I. 394 [He] played his part very archly; he is a comical spark.
1858 H. W. Longfellow Courtship Miles Standish iii. 153 Archly the maiden smiled.
1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea III. i. 81 He archly resolved to have the meaning..expanded into plain French.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adv.1712