Consecutively

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Following one after another in unbroken order or sequence without interruption
2. Occurring one after the other in a continuous sequence without any gaps or interruptions
3. Happening in a successive manner where each event follows the previous one directly and seamlessly

Etymology: "Consecutively" is simply "consecutive" with the adverb ending "-ly" added. The adjective "consecutive" came into English from Latin "consecutivus," a derivative of "consecutus," the past participle of "consequi," meaning "to follow closely" or "to follow up." The Latin prefix "con-" (together) joined with "sequi" (to follow) gives the core idea: things that come after one another in an unbroken line. The ending "-ly" has a much older pedigree. It descends from Old English "-līce," which was attached to adjectives to turn them into adverbs of manner, and which itself traces back through Proto-Germanic to a root meaning "body" or "form." So "consecutively" pairs a Latin-borrowed stem with a Germanic ending that has been doing this job in English for well over a thousand years.

Synonyms: successively, sequentially, continuously, in succession, one after another

Antonyms: nonconsecutively, intermittently, randomly, discontinuously, disjointedly