thankfully

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   let us be thankful that

   Thankfully they didn't come to the party.

2. 2
   adv

   In a thankful manner; giving thanks.

   Gratiano: […]I owe you much, and, like a wilful youth That which I owe is lost; but if you please To shoot another arrow that self way Which you did shoot the first, I do not doubt, As I will watch the aim, or to find both, Or bring your latter hazard back again, And thankfully rest debtor for the first.

3. 3
   adv

   fortunately, gratefully.

   I was almost late for work, but thankfully there wasn't much traffic on the roads.

4. 4
   adv

   in a thankful manner

Etymology

From Middle English thankfully, thankefully, þonkfulliche, from Old English þancfullīċe, equivalent to thankful + -ly.