Rhetorically
/ˌrɛt.əˈrɪk.əli/noun
In a way that is intended to persuade or express something without expecting a literal answer.
Did you know?“Rhetoric” entered English through Latin and French from Greek rhētorikḗ, the art of public speaking, a discipline so central in antiquity that it was treated as a core weapon of civic power.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wer-
“to speak, say”
Ancient Greek
Greek
rhḗtōr (ῥήτωρ)
“a public speaker, orator”
Ancient Greek
Greek
rhētorikḗ (ῥητορική)
“the art of rhetoric, oratory”
Latin
Latin
rhetorica
“rhetoric, the art of speaking persuasively”
Old French
Old French
rethorique
“rhetoric”
Middle English
English
rethorik
“the art of rhetoric; persuasive speech”
Modern English
English
rhetorically
“in a rhetorical manner; as a figure of speech or for effect”