Osseously

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Of or pertaining to the composition, structure, or characteristics typical of bone
2. Characterized by a hard and bony nature, often in reference to tissues or structures
3. In a way that relates to the physical qualities or makeup typical of bone

Etymology: "Osseously" is simply "osseous" with the adverbial ending "-ly" attached, so it means "in an osseous manner." The real story lies in the base word. "Osseous" comes from Latin "osseus," meaning "bony," itself built on "os," the Latin word for "bone," which is the same root that gives English words like "ossify" and "ossuary," the latter a place for storing bones. The adverb is a straightforward formation, the kind English creates whenever an adjective needs to describe how something is done or what it is like. Writers use it mainly in anatomy and medicine, where it describes how a tissue or structure is hardened or bony, as in a tissue that has become osseously rigid.