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A corollary in mathematics is a useful side-effect (with other related meanings, but as it pertains to this question, that's the relevant definition to keep in mind).

I want to use the word corollarily in a sentence to mean "in a way that results in this as a corollary of the aforementioned". As an example: This would annul the mercy towards the victim that the death penalty would corollarily extend. This would mean that the death penalty of a perpetrator causes a situation which benefits his victim in a specific way which may or may not be the original intent of the imputation of the death penalty for the given crime.

There is no such word as corollarily, at least not that I found. So my question is, what is your opinion in regards to using it that way (in either a formal or informal setting) as a coinage? I would like to hear what you think about "adverbizing" words, but specifically this one, and in this way.

If this is too confusing, the example is in reference to the situation where (specifically in a religious context) a woman's (or man's) spouse was unfaithful and will therefore be put to death because the crime of adultery is punished with the death penalty. This woman would now be allowed to marry whomever she wants and this would not be adultery on her part. In removing the death penalty she might now worry that (again, in a religious context) if she marries again, she might be guilty or adultery. So, the death penalty had the corollary effect that mercy was extended to her, allowing her to marry without this worry. Where the originally intended purpose of the death penalty isn't to allow her to marry again, but to punish the crime, but it also has this effect of mercy to the woman "as a corollary". Please, obviously do not comment on the example in this thread, as that would be way off topic. If you really want to discuss this, ask on christianity.SE or even miyodeya.SE, and link us here and we can discuss there.

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  • You have several great examples of other word choices below. I would also add corespondingly would be a better fit for this example.
    – Mike
    Commented Apr 6, 2014 at 16:46
  • And secondarily.
    – Mike
    Commented Apr 6, 2014 at 16:48
  • @choster I kept most of your edits, but had to edit the question back to reflect what I am actually looking for, which is to get informative feedback on the practice of "adverbizing" words, and specifically this one. I am not looking for an equivalent word for it.
    – insaner
    Commented Apr 10, 2014 at 22:44

4 Answers 4

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I think concomitant would fit the definition that you're searching for. Concomitantly is a valid adverbial form of it as well.

Global warming and its concomitant changes in climate may yet be a boon for agriculture in the presently parched nether regions of the earth.

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  • I like the usage that can be given to "concomitant", but the definition might be more like saying that "it goes hand in hand with", as opposed to "a smaller offshoot effect which is not the main desired/expected one, and is not required nor expected to occur".
    – insaner
    Commented Apr 6, 2014 at 5:54
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Corollary was originally an adjective, derived from correlation; you use it this way in your last paragraph. If a mathematician writes 'Corollary: Y can never be less than 0' where he might have written consequently, it is unsurprising that students take the word to be, and later turn it into, a noun. But this doesn't mean you can lengthen it again when you turn it into an adverb, or you enter a never-ending spiral. How about correspondingly instead?

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  • So would the correct adverb be correlationally? Or correlatively!
    – Mynamite
    Commented Apr 5, 2014 at 10:56
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    While it is true that not every adjective can be made into an adverb by adding -ly, I don’t see why doing so here would cause you to “enter a never-ending spiral”. Assuming that corollary is being used as an adjective, I can’t see any reason why an adverbial corollarily could not be quite transparently created.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Apr 5, 2014 at 18:51
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    I looked it up real quick, and found that the etymology of "corollary" is: from Latin corollarium ‘money paid for a garland or chaplet; gratuity’ (in late Latin ‘deduction’), from corolla, diminutive of corona ‘wreath, crown, chaplet.’. but it is true that it could quite effectively (though not perfectly) be replaced by "consequently", but not really as much with "correspondingly".
    – insaner
    Commented Apr 6, 2014 at 6:06
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I would be against it mainly because it's so hard to pronounce.

How about consequently, or as a consequence instead?

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  • Yeah, "consequently" definitely could work, but it lacks the connotation and precision that something like "corollarily" would give it (hence the desire for its existence).
    – insaner
    Commented Apr 6, 2014 at 5:58
  • Your answer made me curious about other words that are hard to pronounce, so I did a quick search and got some interesting results. Here's a few of them: Entrepreneurship, Remuneration, Deterioration, Diphtheria, Cavalry, Barbiturate, Arctic, Prerogative.
    – insaner
    Commented Apr 10, 2014 at 23:00
  • Interesting, did it say how these were chosen? I don't have a problem with any of those words. On the other hand I always have to think about 'asphalt' and I avoid using 'lure' if possible!
    – Mynamite
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 9:42
  • It was from a couple of sources, but I don't remember there being any mention of how they came upon the list. I do remember that one was compiled by a second language speaker though. There's definitely harder words to pronounce than these, but I thought it was an interesting list.
    – insaner
    Commented Apr 13, 2014 at 3:17
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'Corollarily' is not considered a word by dictionaries currently. It is a reasonable neologistic construction, in the sense that it follows the rules of adding the suffix.

There are other ways of saying what you intend with existing terms, 'theoretically', 'as a corollary'.

Also, it is not particularly easy to pronounce.

So I'd suggest trying to use another way of saying it, otherwise it will stand out like a sore thumb.

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