Mutably

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Capable of undergoing change or alteration over time
2. able to be modified or adjusted according to varying conditions
3. characterized by an inherent unpredictability in form or nature

Etymology: "Mutably" is a straightforward formation: the adjective "mutable", meaning liable to change, with the adverbial ending "-ly" added to give "in a mutable way." The adjective came into English from Latin "mutabilis", itself built on "mutare", "to change," and the same Latin root gives us "mutate," "mutation," and "commute." The ending does most of the grammatical work here, and it has a long pedigree of its own. "-ly" descends from Old English "-līce," a suffix that was attached to adjectives to form adverbs, and it has been shaping English adverbs since the early medieval period. The suffix's ancestry reaches back much further than English. Its Germanic forms trace to a word meaning "body" or "form," so the original sense was roughly "in the shape of" something. An adverb like "mutably" therefore literally says "in the form of a changeable thing." The word is a blend of Latin vocabulary and native Germanic grammar, a pattern common throughout English.

Synonyms: changeably, variably, unsteadily, inconstantly, fluctuatingly

Antonyms: immutably, steadily, permanently, constantly, invariably