In a brave, spirited, or courageous manner; with determination despite difficulty.
From 'game' (courageous, ready to fight) + '-ly' (adverb suffix). The 'game' meaning 'brave' comes from gamecock associations with fighting spirit.
When journalists describe someone as 'gamely fighting' an illness, they're using language that literally traces back to roosters bred for combat—the metaphor has gotten so buried that most people forget the brutal origin of this cheerful-sounding word.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.