Vocalically

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Concerning the qualities and characteristics of sound produced by the voice, especially in relation to its modulation and articulation
2. Relating to how vocal sounds are articulated and characterized, highlighting their dynamic qualities and nuances
3. In a manner pertaining to the production and differentiation of vowel sounds during speech

Etymology: "Vocalically" is built from two parts. The first is "vocalic," an adjective meaning relating to vowels, which comes from "vocal," itself from Latin "vocalis," "having a voice," from "vox," "voice." The second is the suffix "-ally," which turns an adjective into an adverb of manner, so "vocalically" means in a way that concerns vowels or spoken sound. The word is mainly a technical term in phonetics and linguistics, where it describes how a sound functions, as when a consonant is used as a vowel, as in the syllabic "l" of "bottle." The combination follows the regular pattern of "-ic" adjectives taking "-ally," as in "basically" from "basic" or "musically" from "musical."