I would not be surprised if this list goes through dozens of editions during my reading career. Right now it’s rather small but I can explain this. Thanks to reading auld literature I have recorded many more medieval and archaic adverbs into my Books of Words, but this here’s just a matter of me finding the time to list them on my blog. Eventually I will find the time to share them all. For now, I hope you find one you’ve never used before.

Medieval Adverbs

Enow (11th century) “enough” – Example: He had faced enow of her henpecking.

Adossé (from 18th-C French heraldry) “back to back” – Example: His coat-armor emblazoned two lions adossé.

Affronté / Confronté (from 18th-C French heraldry) “facing one another” – Example: The opponents stood affronté, then the marshal lifted his wand and the duel began.

Pedetemptim (from 18-C French heraldry) “step by step” – Example: The fox crept pedetentim toward the movement in the shadows.

Eftsoons (12th century) – “soon afterward” – Example: Church was pleasant. She went to the market eftsoons.

Cap-a-pie (16th century) – “from head to foot” – Example: The wolf was covered cap-a-pie in mud.

Tête-à-tête (17th century) – “face to face in private” or “vis-a-vis” – Example: I slowed my horse to chat tête-à-tête with the captain.

Well-nigh (11th century) – “almost” “nearly” – Example: The siege was well-nigh lifted.

Widdershins (16th century) – “counterclockwise” “in a left hand” “against the sun’s course” – Example: I rolled the dice widdershins across the floor.

Alfresco (18th century) – “out in the open air” – Example: With our tour of Florence complete, we stopped at the loggia for a refreshment alfresco.

Aloft (13th century) – “overhead” “at a great height” – Example: The knights waved their weapons aloft.

Certes (13th century) – “assuredly” “I assure you” – Example: Certes, Your Magnifico, I meant no harm!

Forsooth (12th century) – “indeed” – Example: It was a sad day forsooth.

Shillyshally (18th century) – “in a hesitating manner” – Example: The pardoned boy bowed shillyshally to his frowning mother.

Whilom (12th century) is synonymous with Erstwhile (16th century) – “in the past” “formerly” – Example: The cardinal, who was whilom a mere priest, said the evening prayer.

Yon (11th century) – “that” – Example: I wouldn’t go near yon graveyard if I were you.

Anywise (13th century) – “in any manner or way” – Example: The queen gets what she wants anywise.

Singly (14th century) – “individually” “one by one” – Example:  Come singly to see His Magnificence!

Anon (11th century) –  “soon” “shortly” – Example: Indeed, my dear brother, the world shall anon be ours!

Lief (13th century) – “readily” “willingly” “gladly” – Example: His Majesty lief accepted the proposition.

UPDATED 2026: Here are some more cool archaic adverbs that fit will in medieval fantasy.

De jure – means “legally”, “by right”, “rightfully”, or “according to the law”.

Whereanent – anent is a archaic Scottish preposition meaning “concerning” or “about” and so whereanent means “concerning which”. Example: The sword, whereanent the smith was boasting yesterday, isn’t as sharp as my cousin’s.”

A fortiori – means “with greater reason and stronger force” or “using a conclusion after another lesser conclusion”.

Punto de blanco – Spanish for “point-blank”, meaning with the cannon level and not tilted in Mediterranean galley warfare.

Wheresoever – a fancy way to say “wherever”.

Whencesoever – a fancy way to say “from whatever place”.

Mala fide – means “with bad faith” or “with intent to deceive”.

Seriatim – means “point by point” or “in a series”.

Thanks for visiting. I love collecting archaic words that are still usable today and this list should keep on growing. Feel free to share other words you know in the comments, or subscribe to my newsletter if you love reading medieval fantasy.