Invulnerably

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Acting in a manner that offers total immunity to injury or damage
2. In a manner that resists any form of harm or injury
3. Performing or existing without the possibility of being physically or emotionally hurt

Etymology: Invulnerably is a plain formation: the adjective "invulnerable" with the adverb ending "-ly" added. The adjective itself comes from "in-", meaning "not", joined to "vulnerable," which descends from the Latin "vulnerare," "to wound," from "vulnus," "wound." So the adverb describes doing something in a way that cannot be wounded or harmed. The ending has a longer ancestry than the rest of the word. "-ly" traces back through Middle English to Old English "-līce," which was itself a suffix meaning "in the manner of" or "like." Its deeper roots go back to a Proto-Germanic word meaning "body" or "form," so that an adverb in "-ly" once carried the sense of "in the body-shape of" the adjective. Over centuries the ending was worn down to the simple marker we now recognize.

Synonyms: imperviously, impenetrably