Nuclearly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Concerning the nucleus of an atom, this term applies to phenomena related to nuclear energy or reactions, as well as to the central components of cells and their functions
2. This descriptor references aspects of the atomic nucleus, including nuclear energy or reactions, and relates to central cellular structures and their interactions
3. Connected with the core of an atom and processes involving nuclear reactions ; associated with the primary central part of a cell or system

Etymology: "Nuclearly" is simply "nuclear" with the adverb-forming suffix "-ly" added to it. The suffix has a long pedigree: it descends from a Proto-Germanic word meaning "body" or "form," which was attached to adjectives to mean "having the appearance or quality of" them. That same root gave English "like" and, in Old English, the suffix "-līce," which turned adjectives into adverbs describing the manner of an action. Over the Middle English period that ending wore down to "-ly," the form we use today. The base word "nuclear" comes from "nucleus," the Latin word for a kernel or the core of a nut, from which the modern sense of a central core was extended to the atom's centre and to the central structures of cells. Because "nuclear" was adopted for the atomic sense only in the twentieth century, "nuclearly" is a much more recent formation, built by attaching the old adverbial suffix to that modern adjective.

Synonyms: atomically