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vitally

 [vahyt-l]   Origin

vi·tal

   [vahyt-l]
adjective
1.
of or pertaining to life: vital processes.
2.
having remarkable energy, liveliness, or force of personality: a vital leader.
3.
being the seat or source of life: the vital organs.
4.
necessary to life: vital fluids.
5.
necessary to the existence, continuance, or well-being of something; indispensable; essential: vital for a healthy society.
EXPAND
6.
affecting the existence, well-being, truth, etc., of something: a vital error.
7.
of critical importance: vital decisions.
8.
destructive to life; deadly: a vital wound.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin vītālis, equivalent to vīt(a) life (derivative of vīvere to live; akin to Greek bíesthai, Sanskrit jīvati (he) lives, English quick) + -ālis -al1

Related forms
vi·tal·ly, adverb
vi·tal·ness, noun
non·vi·tal, adjective
non·vi·tal·ly, adverb
non·vi·tal·ness, noun
EXPAND
qua·si-vi·tal, adjective
qua·si-vi·tal·ly, adverb
su·per·vi·tal, adjective
su·per·vi·tal·ly, adverb
su·per·vi·tal·ness, noun
un·vi·tal, adjective
un·vi·tal·ly, adverb
un·vi·tal·ness, noun
COLLAPSE

Synonyms
5. important, critical.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Vitally is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
vital (ˈvaɪtəl)
 
—adj
1.  essential to maintain life: the lungs perform a vital function
2.  forceful, energetic, or lively: a vital person
3.  of, relating to, having, or displaying life: a vital organism
4.  indispensable or essential: books vital to this study
5.  of great importance; decisive: a vital game
6.  archaic influencing the course of life, esp negatively: a vital treachery
 
—n
7.  (plural)
 a.  the bodily organs, such as the brain, liver, heart, lungs, etc, that are necessary to maintain life
 b.  the organs of reproduction, esp the male genitals
8.  (plural) the essential elements of anything
 
[C14: via Old French from Latin vītālis belonging to life, from vīta life]
 
'vitally
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

vital
late 14c., "of or manifesting life," from L. vitalis "of or belonging to life," from vita "life," related to vivere "to live," from PIE base *gwei- (cf. O.Pers. *jivaka- "alive;" Gk. bios "life," zoon "animal;" Lith. gyvata "(eternal) life;" O.E. cwic, cwicu "living, alive;" O.Ir. bethu "life;" cf.
EXPAND
also bio-). The sense of "necessary or important" is from 1610s, via the notion of "essential to life" (late 15c.).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

vital vi·tal (vīt'l)
adj.

  1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of life.

  2. Necessary to the continuation of life.

  3. Used or done on a living cell or tissue, as in staining.

  4. Destructive to life; fatal, as of an injury.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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