Integrally

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that is essential or fundamental to the whole; as an integral part or component
2. In a manner that is crucial or central to the entirety of something
3. operating as a necessary element within a complete structure

Etymology: Integrally is an adverb built from "integral" plus the suffix "-ly", so its meaning rests on the root it inherits. The adjective "integral" comes from Latin "integer", meaning whole or untouched, and the same root gave English "integer" itself. The sense has moved from wholeness to function: something integral is not just present in a thing but essential to how that thing works. The suffix has a longer history than the adverb. It descends from Old English "-līċe", which was attached to adjectives to form adverbs of manner, and it was written "-ly" by Middle English. Its ancestry reaches back to a Germanic root meaning "body" or "form", which is why the ending is so common across English adverbs.

Synonyms: essentially, fundamentally