Miraculously

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /məˈɹækjələsli/

Definitions

1. In a manner that seems impossible to explain by natural laws or ordinary means, as if by divine intervention or extraordinary chance
2. In a way that appears to defy natural laws and logic, often suggesting a supernatural influence or remarkable serendipity
3. In a fashion that is astonishingly improbable and seemingly beyond the realm of normal circumstances, typically implying a miraculous occurrence

Etymology: "Miraculously" is an inflected form, built from "miraculous" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly." The adjective "miraculous" comes from the Latin "miraculosus," a derivative of "miraculum," meaning "wonder" or "marvel," itself rooted in the Latin verb "mirari," to wonder at. The adjective reached English through Old French and carries the sense of something that seems to defy ordinary explanation. The suffix "-ly" is the older part of the story. It descends from the Old English "-līċe," which was attached to adjectives to turn them into adverbs, and it is the same element found in words like "quickly" and "slowly." Its ancestry runs back through Proto-Germanic "-līkô," a form tied to the idea of body or appearance, so an adverb in "-ly" originally described an action as being done in a particular "like" manner. Over the centuries the ending was reduced to the single syllable seen today.

Synonyms: wonderfully, remarkably, extraordinarily, incredibly, fantastically