Binomially

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Relating to or involving a binomial expression or classification system
2. describing processes or outcomes that can be categorized through two distinct terms or constituents
3. indicating mathematical or statistical methodologies where entities are represented by pairs of values or attributes

Etymology: "Binomially" is a plain formation: the adjective "binomial" with the adverbial ending "-ly" attached. "Binomial" itself is built from Latin roots, "bi-" meaning "two" and "nomen" meaning "name," so the word describes something with two names or two terms. The most famous use is in biology, where Carl Linnaeus's system gives each species a two-part name, a genus followed by a species, as in Homo sapiens. Writing something "binomially" means expressing it in that two-part form, or treating a classification or expression in terms of such a pair. The adverb follows the same pattern as countless others, such as "typically" or "logically," so its meaning is easy to work out from its parts. The adjective "binomial" entered English as a mathematical term, referring to two-term algebraic expressions, before it was applied more broadly to taxonomy, which is where the adverb finds most of its use.

Synonyms: dichotomously