'hierarchically' originates from Greek via Late Latin and Middle English, specifically from Greek 'hierarkhia' (ἱεραρχία), where 'hier-' (from 'hieros') meant 'sacred' and 'arkhos/arkhē' meant 'rule' or 'leadership'.

'hierarchically' evolved from Medieval/Latin forms such as Late Latin 'hierarchia' and Middle English 'hierarchie', which produced the adjective 'hierarchical' and then the adverbial form 'hierarchically' in Modern English.

Initially connected to 'sacred rule' or 'religious order' (literal 'rule of priests'), the sense broadened to mean any system of ranked authority or ordered levels; this general sense is the modern meaning.