Financially

How to spell financially

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce financially

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does financially mean?

1. adverbIn a way that relates to money, funding, or the management of finances.

Financially in a sentence

• The merger left the company financially stronger than before.

• After years of debt, she is finally financially independent.

Where does financially come from?

Language of origin: French

This adverb traces back to the Latin noun finis, which literally meant 'an end' or 'a boundary', and by extension the settling of a debt, since paying up brought a matter to its end. Medieval Latin developed finantia for a payment or settlement, and Old French turned this into finance, meaning the management of money and the settling of accounts. English borrowed 'finance' in the late Middle Ages, at first for a payment or ransom and later for money management in general. The adjective 'financial' was formed in the eighteenth century, and 'financially' followed simply by adding the adverb ending -ly. The spelling trap lives in that quiet stack of endings: the base 'financial' keeps its single l, and the -ly adverb suffix adds a second one, so the word ends in -ially with the doubled l only at the join.

How the word is built

• financ- (from Latin finis: end, settlement)
• -ial (adjective)
• -ly (adverb)