fragmentary [frag-muh n-ter-ee] EXAMPLES|WORD ORIGIN adjective consisting of or reduced to fragments; broken; disconnected; incomplete: fragmentary evidence; fragmentary remains. Liberaldictionary.com
Origin of fragmentary First recorded in 1605–15; fragment + -ary Related formsfrag·men·tar·i·ly, adverbfrag·men·tar·i·ness, noun Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Examples from the Web for fragmentarily Historical Examples of fragmentarily
Of course they do not express his complete views of the mighty subject which they fragmentarily treat.
James Martineau
Not piecemeal, therefore, and fragmentarily, did language arise.
The philosophy of life, and philosophy of language, in a course of lectures
Frederick von Schlegel
All knowledge was in the non-scientific form, or only fragmentarily and inchoately adjusted.
Milton Valentine
So he got his flute, propped up the book against a vase, and played the tune, whilst she hummed it fragmentarily.
D. H. Lawrence
British Dictionary definitions for fragmentarily fragmentary adjective made up of fragments; disconnected; incompleteAlso: fragmental Derived Formsfragmentarily, adverbfragmentariness, noun Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for fragmentarily fragmentary adj.
1835 (with an isolated use in Donne from 1611), from fragment + -ary.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper