Correlatively

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that indicates the relationship and mutual dependence between entities
2. Pertaining to the way in which two aspects are interconnected or reflect upon each other in various contexts
3. In a way that shows how two things are linked or mutually dependent

Etymology: "Correlatively" is a plain formation: the adjective "correlative" with the adverbial suffix "-ly" added to it. The adjective itself comes from "correlate," which describes things that stand in a reciprocal relationship, each one implying the other, as a parent implies a child. Its meaning in English is therefore built into the word: whatever is done correlatively is done in a way that pairs one thing with another, so that each half of the pair is understood through the other. The word is most at home in grammar and logic, where "correlative" describes paired connectors such as "either...or" and "both...and," and in statistics, where two variables move together. An adverb such as "correlatively" lets a writer say that two changes happen in step, with neither one simply causing the other. Its usefulness lies in that exact sense of mutual dependence rather than in any dramatic shift of meaning.

Synonyms: mutually, reciprocally, correspondingly, interdependently, in relation