Supply = supple + ly?

[Coin]

While solving a crossword, it accepted "supply" as the answer for the clue: "Lithely(6)"
Cannot find this sort of definition for supply anywhere.

 

[emsr2d2]

Did the final "y" definitely fit with one of the other answers? "Supplely" is the correct spelling of the synonym for "lithely". I suspect they've made a mistake.

 

[jutfrank]

I'd say that 'supply' is indeed the conventional way to form the adverb of 'supple'. The normal transformation involves removing the 'e' and replacing it with a 'y'. The problem here, of course, is that it looks like the verb. This awkwardness is probably the best reason to avoid this word in writing altogether (unless you're a cunning crossword setter).

Cannot find this sort of definition for supply anywhere.

The suffix -ly forms an adverb of manner, so 'supply' means 'in a supple way'. You won't find every formable adverb in a dictionary.

 

[Annabel Lee]

The OED lists "supply" as a variant form of "supplely" that has been found occasionally since the 1800s:



Of the eleven examples it lists for this adverb, from 1611 to 2010, only one uses the spelling "supply." The example is from 1898:

She was tall..and very supply knit.​

G. Allen, Incid. Bishop 54 ​

 

[emsr2d2]

All online sources I've found give "supplely" as the adverb stemming from supple.