Basically

How to spell basically

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce basically

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does basically mean?

1. adverbIn the most essential respects; fundamentally or in summary.

Basically in a sentence

• The two contracts are basically identical apart from the price.

• Basically the meeting confirmed everything we already knew.

Where does basically come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word traces back to the Greek basis, which literally meant 'a step' or 'that on which one stands', and so came to mean a foundation or pedestal. Latin borrowed this as basis with the sense of a base or foundation, and from it English formed the adjective 'basic' in the nineteenth century to describe something fundamental or forming a starting point. Adding the suffix '-al' and then the adverb ending '-ly' produced 'basically', meaning 'in essence' or 'fundamentally'. The spelling trap lives in the middle and the end: there is no 'e' before the '-ally', so it is bas-ic-al-ly, and the word ends in a full '-ally' (two l's), not '-aly'. Remembering that it is simply 'basic' plus 'ally' keeps the double l and the missing 'e' straight.

How the word is built

• bas- (from Greek basis: foundation)
• -ic (adjective)
• -al (adjective)
• -ly (adverb)