[‘ In a prosy, dull, or commonplace manner; tediously; prosaically.']
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈprəʊzᵻli/, U.S. /ˈproʊzəli/
Origin:Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: prosy adj., -ly suffix2.
Etymology: < prosy adj. + -ly suffix2.
In a prosy, dull, or commonplace manner; tediously; prosaically.
1836 Dickens /Pickwick Papers/(1837) xiv. 134 The Peacock presented attractions which enabled the two friends to resist, even the invitations of the talented, though prosily inclined, Mr. Pott.
1849 D. M. Mulock /Ogilvies/ xxiii, This speech, delivered rather prosily and oracularly.
1874 T. Hardy /Far from Madding Crowd/ I. ii. 23 Oak knew her..as the heroine of the yellow waggon..: prosily, as the woman who owed him twopence.
1937 J. P. Marquand /Late George Apley/ xxxi. 353, I am speaking very prosily, out of sheer joy at having you come back.
1993 /Chicago Sun-Times/ 21 Feb. (Travel Section) 8/3 ‘Time’s masterpiece’ the village likes to call itself, a bit prosily, but there is a timelessness about those cobbled streets..that seems to pass by the 20th century in favor of the 16th.