You can think of dearly as saying that something weighs a lot. The old root means worthily, — the full amount, not a small one. Put that weight on feeling and you get loved her dearly: the feeling is heavy and real. Put it on what a mistake takes from you and you get cost him dearly: what he lost was heavy. Put it on a price tag and you get dearly priced: the number is heavy. One word, and each use tells you which side the weight is sitting on — the loving side or the paying side.
From the word’s history
From Middle English derely, from Old English deorlice, meaning worthily or richly: dear plus -ly.
來自中古英語 derely，再往前是古英語 dēorlīċe，意思是「值得地、豐厚地」，也就是 dear 加上 -ly。這正好說明為什麼同一個字既能講愛得很深，也能講付出很大：兩邊講的都是份量。
Wiktionary entry for dearly, packet source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1025906929 (etymology_text: From Middle English derely, deorliche, from Old English dēorlīċe (worthily, richly), equivalent to dear + -ly).
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