Monophasically

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Occurring in one single phase or cycle, as with a sleep pattern or electrical current that does not divide into multiple stages
2. Happening in a single distinct phase rather than in several separate stages or waves
3. Done in one uninterrupted cycle, so that the process has only one phase at a time

Etymology: "Monophasically" is simply the adverb form of "monophasic," with the suffix "-ally" added to the adjective. The adjective is built from "mono-," from Greek "monos" meaning "single" or "alone," and "-phasic," which relates to "phase," from Greek "phasis," an appearance or manifestation. Together the adjective describes something having a single phase, and the adverb describes an action carried out in a single phase or pattern. The suffix does the grammatical work here. "-ally" is the standard English way of turning an adjective ending in "-ic" into an adverb describing manner, so "monophasic" becomes "monophasically" in the same way "basic" becomes "basically." The word therefore carries no separate history of its own beyond the adjective it comes from.