Urbanely

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Displaying a sophisticated charm that conveys social grace and poise
2. In a manner showing polished politeness and sophisticated manners
3. Conducted with elegant courtesy and cultured social ease

Etymology: Urbanely is about as plain as English etymology gets: it is the adverb of "urbane" with the suffix "-ly" attached, so it means "in an urbane manner." The more interesting story is in the stem. "Urbane" came into English from Latin "urbanus," meaning "of the city," which was itself rooted in "urbs," the city of Rome, so the original sense was simply a town-dweller's way of doing things. Over time the idea of city life came to stand for refinement, and "urbane" took on the sense of smooth, polished courtesy that separates it from the rougher ways of the countryside. Urbanely shares its history with "urbanly," a near-identical form of the same adverb, and the two have existed side by side for a long time. Both are built from the same base, so they differ only in which ending was chosen, and writers have used them interchangeably.

Synonyms: smoothly, graciously