Oxidatively

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a fashion that pertains to or emerges from oxidation processes
2. Relating to the chemical reactions involving electron transfer and the resulting oxidized materials
3. In a manner involving or caused by the chemical reaction where substances lose electrons to oxygen or other oxidizing agents

Etymology: Oxidatively is a plain formation rather than a story with a famous coiner: the adjective "oxidative" with the adverbial suffix "-ly" attached. The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It descends from a Proto-Germanic element "-līkaz," meaning "having the form or appearance of," which is ultimately built on a word for "body" or "form," so the "-ly" in "oxidatively" carries a sense of "in the manner of" that goes back thousands of years. That suffix passed through Old English as "-līce," which became "-ly" in Middle English and has remained the regular way to turn adjectives into adverbs ever since. The result is that the word simply means "in an oxidative way," which is to say by reacting with oxygen.