presently

Etymology

From Middle English presently; equivalent to present + -ly.

adv

1. (now Britain, rare) Immediately, at once; quickly.
   the butler supposing the Wine had beene so carefully commended unto him for the goodnesse of it, imediately presented some unto the Pope, who whilest he was drinking, his sonne came in and never imagining his bottles had beene toucht, tooke the cup and pledged his father, so that the Pope died presently; and the sonne, after he had long time beene tormented with sicknesse, recovered to another worse fortune. , Folio Society, 2006, Vol.1, p.219
2. Before long; soon.
   Presently all was quiet again.
   It[…]is the greatest example of lenity in our Saviour, when he desired of God forgiveness unto those, who having one day brought him into the City in triumph, did presently after, act all dishonour upon him, and nothing could be heard but, Crucifige, in their Courts. 1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, I.3
   I shall forget you presently, my dear, / So make the most of this, your little day, / Your little month, your little half a year, / Ere I forget, or die, or move away, 1921, Edna St. Vincent Millay, “//dummy.host/index.php?title=s%3Aen%3AA+few+figs+from+thistles%3B+poems+and+sonnets%2FSonnet+4 Sonnet IV”, in A Few Figs from Thistles
   ‘I shall presently be getting a call to tell me of that.’ 1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 2010, page 55
3. (rarely proscribed) At present; now; currently.
   To all of you, therefore, who call Wales your motherland, whether you presently inhabit some other portion of the globe or breathe the air of your cloud-kissed country […]. 1891, The Welsh Review, No.1 (November 1891). "A Word to the Welsh People." p.1
4. (obsolete) With actual presence; in actuality.
   March 27 1545, Stephen Gardiner, letter to Thomas Smith and MAtthew PArker if they perceyve not presently, it shal be wel doon to bringe them to conformite