Velarly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner relating to articulation at the soft palate area of the mouth ; describing something that is pronounced using the back of the tongue against the velum
2. Pertaining to speech sounds formed at or near the soft palate ; indicating an action or quality involving the velar region during pronunciation
3. Characterized by articulation at the velum ; involving velar placement in speech production or phonetic description

Etymology: "Velarly" is simply "velar" with the adverbial ending "-ly" added. "Velar" itself comes from Latin "velum," meaning "veil" or "sail," and the word was applied to the soft palate, the fleshy rear part of the roof of the mouth, because it hangs down like a curtain or sail at the back of the mouth. Phoneticians use the term for consonants articulated there, such as the "k" in "kite" or the "g" in "go." The adjective "velar" entered the technical vocabulary of phonetics as a classification term, and "velarly" follows the same pattern as other manner adverbs in English, such as "dentally" or "labially." It describes how a sound is produced, or how a sound's articulation shifts toward the back of the mouth.