late 14c., "without due moderation; improperly, unsuitably;" see undue + -ly (2). From early 15c. as "unjustly, wrongfully."
Entries linking to unduly
undue adj.
late 14c., "not owing or payable; unjustly demanded," also "not appropriate, unseasonable," also "excessive," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of due (v.). Formed on model of Old French indeu, Latin indebitus.
-ly 2
common adverbial suffix, forming from adjectives adverbs signifying "in a manner denoted by" the adjective, Middle English, from Old English -lice, from Proto-Germanic *-liko- (cognates: Old Frisian -like, Old Saxon -liko, Dutch -lijk, Old High German -licho, German -lich, Old Norse -liga, Gothic -leiko); see -ly (1). Cognate with lich, and identical with like (adj.).
Weekley notes as "curious" that Germanic uses a word essentially meaning "body" for the adverbial formation, while Romanic uses one meaning "mind" (as in French constamment from Latin constanti mente). The modern English form emerged in late Middle English, probably from influence of Old Norse -liga.