Anaerobically

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that takes place without oxygen, often associated with fermentation or metabolic functions occurring in oxygen-free conditions
2. Executed in settings where oxygen is absent, commonly linked to biological processes that do not depend on it
3. Performed under conditions lacking oxygen, typically referring to processes or reactions that do not require it

Etymology: Anaerobically is an adverb built from "anaerobic" plus the adverbial ending "-ally", and the adjective itself is a late scientific coinage. Its first element is the Greek prefix "an-", meaning "without", and its second is "aer", from Greek "aēr", meaning "air". The adjective therefore literally means "without air", and the whole word carries that meaning into every use. The root "aēr" goes back to a Greek word for the lower air or morning mist, a far cry from the gas-laden sense of modern laboratories. The "-ic" that turns it into an adjective is a Latin adjectival suffix, passed through French, while the "-ally" ending on the adverb comes down from Old English "-līce" and Middle English "-ly" and "-ally". So the word is a mixture of Greek, Latin and Germanic parts, assembled in modern science rather than inherited from the ancient world.