Massively

How to spell massively

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce massively

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does massively mean?

1. adverbTo a very large degree or extent; enormously.

Massively in a sentence

• The new contract massively increased the company's monthly revenue.

• House prices have risen massively over the past decade.

Where does massively come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back through the adjective 'massive' to the noun 'mass', which entered English in the 1300s from the Old French 'masse', itself drawn from the Latin 'massa', meaning a lump, a kneaded dough, or a shapeless heap of material. The Latin term was in turn borrowed from the Greek 'maza', a barley cake, linked to the verb 'massein', 'to knead'. The adjective 'massive' was formed in French as 'massif' to describe something solid, bulky, or weighty, and English adopted it in the late 1400s. Adding the native English adverb ending '-ly' produced 'massively', describing something done to a huge degree. The spelling trap sits in the middle: the base keeps its double 's' from 'mass', and the silent-looking '-ive' softens to a schwa before the familiar '-ly' ending.

How the word is built

• mass (lump, large body, from Latin massa)
• -ive (adjective suffix: having the quality of)
• -ly (adverb suffix)