Operatically

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a fashion that reflects the elaborate style of dramatic musical theater performances
2. In a way that emulates the grandeur and theatricality typical of operatic productions
3. Performed or expressed with the dramatic intensity and style typical of opera

Etymology: Operatically is simply operatic with the adjective-forming suffix "-al" and then the adverb ending "-ly" added on top, so the word is a little stack of endings rather than a single coinage. The base, "operatic", comes from "opera", the Italian word for "work", which in turn traces back to Latin "opus" meaning work or labour. Opera in the musical sense shares that root with the everyday English word "opus", so a term for a sung stage drama is, at bottom, just a term for a work. The suffix chain is the more tangled part. The "-al" ending descends from Latin "-alis", passed through Old French and Middle English, while the "-ly" adverb ending comes from the Old English "-līce", which is itself related to the word "like". Adding "-ly" to a noun or adjective therefore carries a faint trace of the idea of "in the manner of", the same sense hidden in "likely" and "lovely".

Synonyms: theatrically, dramatically