Textually

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that relates to the precise wording or correspondence to the original text
2. Expressing something strictly according to the literal words given in a text
3. Describing communication or interpretation based solely on the exact words themselves

Etymology: "Textually" is a plain formation: the adjective "textual" with the adverbial suffix "-ly" added. The suffix descends from an ancient root meaning "body" or "form," which passed through Proto-Germanic and Old English as "-līce," gradually wearing down to the modern "-ly." The adjective "textual," from which it is built, comes from the Latin "textus," meaning "woven" or "fabric," and so the word's core idea is of words as a woven whole. The Latin "textus" was itself a figure of speech for speech: a text was literally a thing woven together, and the metaphor of language as cloth runs deep in English. When "textual" was formed from it, it carried the sense of something belonging to a written text, and adding "-ly" turned that into a manner of interpreting or communicating.

Synonyms: literarily, verbatim