Representatively

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that serves to illustrate a typical instance or quality
2. In a way that acts or speaks on behalf of a larger group or category
3. Performed or displayed as a symbol or example of a broader set or class

Etymology: "Representatively" is a plain combination of two familiar pieces: "representative," which descends from Latin "repraesentare," meaning to bring before the eyes or to present again, and the English suffix "-ly," which turns an adjective into an adverb of manner. The adjective "representative" was already in use in Middle English, so the adverb followed the same path, adding "-ly" to a word that was already expressing the idea of standing in for something larger. The adverb is formed in Middle English as "representatyfliche," a spelling that shows the suffix being attached to the adjective in the same way English adverbs were built from adjectives throughout the period. Its sense of acting as a sample or symbol of a wider group follows directly from the adjective's older sense of standing for or embodying a whole.

Synonyms: symbolically, illustratively, exemplarily, demonstratively, indicatively

Antonyms: unrepresentatively