satisfactorily

the word 'satisfactorily' is built upon the latin verb satisfacere, meaning 'to do enough, to satisfy'. this verb itself is a compound of satis ('enough') and facere ('to make, do'). the latin past participle stem satisfact- was combined with the adjectival suffix -ory (from latin -orius) to form the adjective 'satisfactory', meaning 'making amends' or later 'adequate'. finally, the old english adverbial suffix -ly (from -lice) was appended, creating an adverb that describes an action performed in a manner that is sufficient or meets expectations. the journey from the literal latin concept of 'making enough' to the modern sense of 'adequately' illustrates a semantic broadening from concrete reparation to general sufficiency.