Profitably

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˈpɹɒf.ɪ.tə.bli/

Definitions

1. In a manner that produces a positive financial return or advantage
2. Done so as to result in monetary gain or beneficial outcome
3. Carried out with profitability, generating more income than cost

Etymology: "Profitably" is a plain formation: the adjective "profitable" with the adverb suffix "-ly" added. The suffix has a long ancestry, traceable back through Old English "-līċe" and Proto-Germanic "*-līkaz," a word meaning "body-like" or "form-like" in its distant roots, which is why the ending once carried a sense of "in the manner of." The "-ly" ending on adverbs is the same ending found in words such as "quickly" and "boldly." The adjective "profitable" is the more interesting half. It descends from the Latin "profectus," meaning "progress" or "advance," and entered English through Old French, where the notion of gain or advantage became central. The adverb inherits that commercial and practical sense: to act profitably is to act so that something is gained, whether money, benefit, or advantage.

Synonyms: advantageously, fruitfully, beneficially, economically, lucratively

Antonyms: unprofitably, detrimentally