Radiologically

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Relating to the use of radiation in medical imaging or treatment processes
2. Involving techniques that utilize x-rays or similar radiation for diagnosis or therapy
3. Pertaining to the study and application of radiology in various health contexts

Etymology: "Radiologically" is simply the adverb form of "radiological," so its history is essentially that of the adjective with the ending "-ly" attached. The "-ly" suffix comes from Old English "-lic," a word meaning "body" or "form" that gradually came to mark adjectives as adverbs in English. Adding it to "radiological" produces an adverb describing something done in terms of, or by means of, radiology. The stem is the real story. "Radiological" is built from "radiology," which joins Latin "radius," meaning "ray" or "spoke of a wheel," with the Greek-derived suffix "-logy," from "logos," meaning "study" or "word." Radiology is the study of rays, and in modern use it means the medical study and application of X-rays and other radiation, which is why this adverb describes procedures carried out with X-rays, rather than rays in general.