Adverbialise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convert a word or phrase into a form that functions as an adverb ; to modify expressions so they provide information about how an action is performed ; to transform language elements to indicate manner, time, place, or degree
2. To change or adapt linguistic units into adverb-like forms ; to set words so they describe the circumstances of a verb ; to morph terms to express details on direction, frequency, or intensity in sentences
3. To reform words or phrases to serve grammatical roles that describe actions ; to adjust vocabulary so it qualifies verbs by indicating mode or condition ; to create or alter expressions to function as modifiers that specify aspects such as time or location

Etymology: "Adverbialise" is a verb built in English from "adverbial", an adjective meaning "of or functioning as an adverb", with the suffix "-ise" added. That suffix has a long pedigree: it began in Ancient Greek as a verb-forming ending, passed through Late Latin and Middle French, and reached English in the form "-ise" and "-ize", which is why English can turn almost any adjective or noun into a verb of change, as in "modernise" or "legalise". The sense is literal and direct: to adverbialise a word or phrase is to make it work as an adverb, or to recast a grammatical element so that it modifies a verb, adjective or other adverb. "Adverbial" itself comes from the Latin "adverbium", meaning "word added to a verb", so the verb simply says that the conversion has been done. The term is a technical coinage from grammar rather than a word with a dramatic story, and its history is best understood as the grammatical term plus the verb-forming suffix.

Synonyms: adverbialize