Rapturously

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a fashion that demonstrates deep joy or overwhelming delight
2. In a manner expressing overwhelming happiness or ecstatic pleasure
3. Showing great enthusiasm and delight beyond ordinary happiness

Etymology: "Rapturously" is "rapturous" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added, and the two halves have very different histories. The "-ly" is one of English's oldest working parts: it descends from an Old English form "-līċe," which was itself built from a Germanic root meaning "body" or "form," so that "like" and "-ly" share a common ancestor. Attaching it to an adjective turns the adjective into a description of manner. The base word, "rapturous," came into English through Old French. It is built on "rapture," which traces back to a Latin root meaning "to seize" or "to carry off," the same idea that gives English "rape" in its original sense of seizure. The "-ous" suffix arrived from Latin "-ōsus" by way of Old French "-us" and entered Middle English as "-ous," a common way of forming adjectives meaning "full of" or "characterised by." So "rapturous" literally means full of being seized, a notion that makes the modern sense of being swept away by joy easy to follow.

Synonyms: ecstatically, enthusiastically, exuberantly

Antonyms: sadly, dispassionately