In the manner of a bodkin; lengthwise in a narrow or pointed way, or metaphorically, in a manner lacking significance.
From 'bodkin' plus the directional suffix '-wise' (from Old English 'wisan' meaning direction or manner). This formation creates an adverb describing something done in the fashion or direction of a bodkin.
The suffix '-wise' is one of English's most productive word-builders—we still use it (clockwise, likewise, lengthwise), and 'bodkinwise' shows how medieval English speakers could turn almost any noun into a directional descriptor with this single morpheme.
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