In the manner or direction of headlong; head-first or recklessly.
Compound of 'headlong' and the directional suffix '-wise' (Old English 'wis', meaning manner or direction). The '-wise' suffix, as in 'likewise' and 'clockwise,' forms adverbs indicating manner or direction.
The suffix '-wise' is wonderfully productive in English—we can add it to almost any noun to mean 'in the manner of' or 'in the direction of,' from 'sidewise' to modern coinages like 'businesswise'.
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