stylistically

stylistically

UK[staɪˈlɪstɪkli]US[staɪˈlɪstɪkli]
adv

in a way that relates to the style, manner, or technique of something, especially in art, literature, or music.

adv

in a way that is pleasing and fashionable in appearance.

Morpheme Breakdown

styl
ist
ic
al
ly
styl

style

ist

one who practices

ic

adjective suffix

al

adjective suffix

ly

adverb suffix

Etymology

the word 'stylistically' is built upon the core latin root 'stilus', which originally referred to a pointed instrument for writing on wax tablets. this concrete tool evolved to signify the distinctive manner or character of one's writing, giving us the modern sense of 'style'. the addition of the greek-derived agent suffix '-ist' creates 'stylist', denoting one concerned with style. successive layers of adjectival suffixes ('-ic', '-al') transform it into a descriptive term, which is finally converted into an adverb by the old english suffix '-ly'. thus, the word's journey encapsulates the abstraction from a physical writing tool to a broad concept of manner or technique, and its grammatical evolution into a modifier describing how an action is performed in relation to that manner.

Analysis

Structure: styl (style) + ist (one who practices) + ic (adjective suffix) + al (adjective suffix) + ly (adverb suffix) styl (from latin 'stilus', a writing instrument, hence manner of writing); ist (from greek '-istes', a suffix forming agent nouns); ic (from latin '-icus', greek '-ikos', forming adjectives); al (from latin '-alis', forming adjectives); ly (from old english '-lice', forming adverbs).

Examples

the two buildings are similar stylistically, though built centuries apart.

the film is stylistically bold, using unconventional camera angles and lighting.

she writes stylistically elegant prose that is a pleasure to read.