Part of speech: adverb

Definition: with gentleness, kindness, and affection

Source: Google Dictionary

Found In: Line 1 of “Folding My Clothes” By Julia Alvarez : “Tenderly she would take them down and fold the arms in and fold again where my back should go until it made a small tight square of my chest…”

The definition of the word Tenderly helped me understand how much some of these clothes the speaker is folding may mean to her.