Relevantly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that is directly related and significant to the subject matter at hand
2. With an emphasis on importance that pertains to the specific issue being addressed
3. In a manner that directly connects to the main topic or situation

Etymology: "Relevantly" is a plain formation: the adjective "relevant" with the adverb-forming suffix "-ly" added to the end. "Relevant" itself comes from Latin "relevans," the present participle of "relevare," meaning "to lift up again" or "to raise," from which the sense of "bearing upon, pertinent" developed in later English. The suffix has a longer pedigree than the adjective it attaches to. It descends from a Proto-Germanic element meaning "body, form, shape," which is also the source of the English word "like" in its sense of "similar in form." Old English turned that element into "-līce," used to build adverbs from adjectives, and it later wore down to the "-ly" we use today. The result is that "relevantly" is an adjective-plus-suffix combination that joins a Latinate stem to a Germanic ending, one of the many English adverbs built this way.

Synonyms: pertinently, appropriately, significantly

Antonyms: irrelevantly, inappropriately, insignificantly