Pronunciation: [lˈe͡ɪtli] (IPA) 
The word "lately" is spelled with five letters and two syllables. The stress falls on the first syllable, which is pronounced as "layt" with a long "a" sound. The second syllable is pronounced as "lee" with a short "e" sound. The IPA phonetic transcription of the word is /ˈleɪtli/, with a primary stress on the first syllable and a secondary stress on the second syllable. "Lately" means recently or in the past few days, weeks or months.
Lately, as an adverb, refers to a period of time that is close to the present moment. It signifies the recent past, typically within the last few days, weeks, or months. It indicates an action, occurrence, or situation that has taken place fairly recently with respect to the current time.
The word "lately" is often used to highlight a change or development that has happened in the short term. It implies that something is different from how it was before or that there has been a shift in a given situation. For instance, if someone says, "I've been going to the gym lately," it suggests that they have recently started attending the gym, possibly indicating a new interest or behavior.
Furthermore, "lately" can also refer to events or trends that have been happening frequently or repeatedly in the immediate past. For example, in the statement, "She has been sleeping poorly lately," it suggests that the person referred to has been experiencing sleep disturbances quite often recently.
Overall, "lately" characterizes a time frame that is not far in the past but still distant enough from the present to be considered recent. It emphasizes a recent shift, occurrence, or repetition in a given situation.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "lately" originated from the Old English word "lǣtlic" which means "slow" or "late". It was derived from the Old English word "lǣt" meaning "late" and the suffix "-lic" indicating resemblance or similarity. Over time, "lately" came to be used to refer to something that has happened or occurred recently, signifying its modern meaning.
