Computationally

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˌkɒmpjʊˈteɪʃənəli/

Definitions

1. Pertaining to processes or methods that leverage computers to perform calculations and data analysis
2. Relating to the application of algorithms designed for executing numerical computations and data processing using computers
3. Done in a way that uses computers to carry out calculations and analyze data

Etymology: The adverb "computationally" is a simple formation: "computational" plus the suffix "-ly". The adjective goes back through Middle English "-al" to Latin "-ālis," which passed into Old French as "-el" and "-al" before entering English, while the "-ly" ending descends from an Old English word meaning "body" or "form," as in "like" or "līċe," which slowly wore down into a suffix meaning "in the manner of." Over centuries, that small word for "appearance" became one of English's most productive adverb markers. The root of "computational" is "compute," from Latin "computare," meaning "to reckon together" or "to count up." The "com-" prefix means "together" and "putare" meant "to think, reckon, or prune." So at its heart, computing is a kind of collective reckoning, a sense that survives in the word's modern meaning of tallying numbers through a process. The adverb therefore describes doing something in the manner of that systematic reckoning: working through numbers and data by following a defined procedure, now usually carried out by machines.

Synonyms: algorithmically, programmatically