adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from present (IV) + -ly
1.
a. archaic : without delay or hesitation : forthwith , immediately
and presently the fig-tree withered away — Mt 21:19 (Authorized Version)
b. : after a little while : before long : after a short time : by and by 2, shortly , soon
a long-suffering type but presently even he becomes fed up — John McCarten
leaving the older section, we presently reached the newest development — Joseph Wechsberg
I'll be there presently
2.
a. : at the present time : at present : at this time : now
fix it with the tools presently at hand — T.W.Arnold
the dangerous situation in which this nation presently finds itself — Adrienne Koch
expenses … in these categories presently cannot be deducted — U.S. Code
b. : at the time indicated or referred to : at that time
towns where, presently , the courthouses … were of brick — American Guide Series: Tennessee
3. obsolete : immediately 1
presently without the chapel is the burse — Peter Heylin
4. : by way of immediate consequence or necessity : as a direct result : by direct inference : consequently , directly , necessarily
we do not infer, nor doth it presently follow, that the present reading is corrupt — Brian Walton