Adverbed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having been qualified or described by a word that alters the meaning of a verb, adjective, or other adverb
2. Modified with an adverbial word so that it describes how, when, where, or to what degree an action occurs
3. Given additional description through an adverbial term that specifies manner, time, place, or intensity

Etymology: "Adverbed" is the past tense and past participle of "adverb," used when someone has treated a word or phrase as an adverb, or has added adverbs to a sentence. The verb carries the meaning of the noun it grows from, so its story is really the story of the word "adverb." That noun was borrowed into English from French "adverbe," which came from Latin "adverbium." The Latin word is built from "ad," meaning "to," and "verbum," meaning "word" or "verb," with the suffix "-ium" added. The name reflects the job the word does: it adds to other words, most often verbs, rather than standing on its own as a main element of a sentence. Ancient grammarians used the term this way, so the name describes a function rather than a shape.