Operationally

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that concerns or relates to the actual functioning or performance of a system, process, or organization
2. Describes how something is carried out with respect to its effective working or practical execution
3. Refers to the method or manner in which activities or tasks are conducted based on how they operate

Etymology: "Operationally" is a plain formation: the adjective "operational" plus the adverbial suffix "-ly", which in Old English was "-līce" and gradually reduced to the modern ending. The adjective is built from the Latin "operatio", meaning a working or action, which goes back to "opus" (work) and "operari" (to work). The Latin noun passed into Old French as "operacion" and reached Middle English as "operacioun", and English then added the suffix "-al" to make "operational". The adjective is the more interesting part of the story, because its main job in English is technical. Its sense of relating to how something actually works grew out of the older meaning of "operation" as an action or process, and the adjective became especially common in military and industrial writing, where people needed a precise way to separate what a plan intended from what a unit or machine could actually do. "Operationally" carries that distinction into adverb form, describing how a system performs in practice rather than on paper.

Synonyms: functionally, practically