'woodenly' originates from English, specifically the adjective 'wooden' plus the adverbial suffix '-ly' (the suffix '-ly' ultimately from Old English '-lic'/'-lice' meaning 'like' or 'in the manner of').

'wooden' is derived from Old English 'wudu' (meaning 'wood') with the adjectival suffix '-en'; Middle English forms included 'wodden' or 'wodden'/'woddenlich(e)', and the adverbial form developed into Early Modern English as 'woodenly' and the modern 'woodenly'.

Initially, 'wooden' meant 'made of wood' or 'of wood'; over time it came to describe qualities of stiffness or lack of natural expression, and 'woodenly' came to mean 'in a stiff or unexpressive manner'.