Expressing gratitude; fortunately or luckily (used to express relief or satisfaction about a situation).
From Old English thancfull, combining 'thank' (from thancian, meaning to give thanks) and the suffix '-fully'. The 'fortunately' sense developed in the 20th century.
Thankfully has sparked grammar debates because it evolved from expressing gratitude to expressing relief - purists argue we should say 'fortunately' instead, but language naturally evolves to serve speakers' needs!
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