Shortly means in a short time, or very soon. It can also mean speaking briefly and sometimes a bit sharply.
“Shortly” is formed from “short” plus the adverb-making suffix “-ly.” It dates back to Middle English, where it meant briefly or concisely. The time-based meaning, “soon,” grew naturally from the idea of a short duration.
When someone says, “I’ll be with you shortly,” they’re literally promising a short wait in time. But if someone ‘answers shortly,’ they’re giving you short words, not short minutes. Same root idea—compressed length—applied to time in one case and speech in the other.
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