severally

the word "severally" has a journey that emphasizes the concept of separation. its core, "several," entered english via anglo-french from medieval latin separalis, itself derived from the latin verb separare meaning "to separate." the latin root se- means "apart," and parare means "to prepare" or "to set," thus the literal sense is "to set apart." the adverbial suffix "-ly," of old english origin, was attached to the adjective "several" to form an adverb describing an action performed in a separate or individual manner. over time, while "several" evolved to commonly mean "more than two but not many," its original sense of "separate" was preserved and specialized in the legal and formal adverb "severally," which strictly denotes actions or liabilities undertaken not jointly but by each party individually.

Structure: several (separate) + ly (adverb suffix) - several: from anglo-french, ultimately from medieval latin separalis (separate), from latin separ (separate). functions as the adjectival base meaning "separate" or "distinct." - ly: from old english -līce, an adverbial suffix forming adverbs from adjectives. indicates the manner or quality of the base word.