Concavely

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a style that involves bending or curving inward to form a hollow profile
2. In a way that shapes or bends inward like the inside of a bowl
3. Characterized by a surface that dips or caves inward, forming a hollow contour

Etymology: The adverb "concavely" is simply "concave" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added, and the ending has a longer history than the base word. The "-ly" ending descends from an Old English suffix "-līce," which was itself built from "-līc" (meaning "having the form of," the ancestor of modern "-like") and a case ending. Over the centuries "-līce" wore down to Middle English "-ly," and it now attaches to adjectives across the language to turn them into adverbs describing manner. "Concave" is the older and more interesting half. It came into English from Latin "concavus," meaning "arched" or "hollow," formed from "con-" (together) and "cavus" (hollow), the same root that gives "cave." The image is of a surface that hollows inward, so something concave curves into itself rather than bulging out. An adverb like "concavely" therefore describes an action carried out in that inward-curving manner, such as a lens ground to bend light inward.

Synonyms: hollowly, depressedly

Antonyms: convexly, bulgingly