Spectroscopically

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that uses spectroscopy to analyze the composition or properties of matter through its interaction with light
2. By the method of examining the spectrum of light emitted, absorbed, or reflected by a substance to determine its characteristics
3. Through the application of spectroscopic analysis to study how materials interact with electromagnetic radiation across different wavelengths

Etymology: Spectroscopically is a technical coinage built in layers from classical parts, with no ancient ancestor. The core is "spectrum" (Latin for "appearance" or "image," from "specere," "to look"), which in modern science came to mean the band of colours light splits into. The prefix "spectro-" is simply that word used as a combining form for instruments and methods that analyse light this way. The second layer is "-scopic," which comes from Greek "skopein," "to look at or examine," seen in words like "telescope." Adding "-ic" gives "spectroscopic," an adjective describing work done by spectroscopy. The final "-ally" is an adverb ending that turns the adjective into "in a spectroscopic manner." Its ending traces back through Middle English and Old English forms of "-like," so the whole word is a stack of Latin, Greek, and Germanic pieces assembled in modern scientific English.

Synonyms: spectrographically