abit

(nonstandard, proscribed) Alternative form of a bit.


abjectly

en-adv

abjectly (comparative more abjectly, superlative most abjectly)

more abjectly (comparative)
most abjectly (superlative)

From Middle English abjectli (“with great humility”), from abject (“outcast, rejected; wretched; humble, lowly; of poor quality, worthless; menial”) + -li (suffix forming adverbs); analysable as abject + -ly.

inh

I abjectly apologise for the damage I have done.

A deceitful man is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He will appear innocent, cheerful, polite, attentive, kind, obliging, and abjectly condescending; but let him once get you into his power and he becomes more ferocious, more cruel, and more destructive than the most savage animals that ever trod in deserts uninhabited by rational beings.

1806, Thoughts on Deceit, Margate, Kent: Printed by J. Warren, […], →OCLC, pages 15–16:

So, deprived of one leg, and the strange ship of course being altogether unsupplied with the kindly invention, Ahab now found himself abjectly reduced to a clumsy landsman again; hopelessly eyeing the uncertain changeful height he could hardly hope to attain.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Leg and Arm. The Pequod, of Nantucket, Meets the Samuel Enderby, of London.”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 486:

In an abject fashion; with great shame; desperately.

abjectament

in an abject fashion; with great shame; desperately


abhorrently

en-adv

abhorrently (comparative more abhorrently, superlative most abhorrently)

more abhorrently (comparative)
most abhorrently (superlative)

From a basic belief that dropping a nuclear bomb would be an abhorrently immoral act, the bishop has taken the next step: he has tried to make a case that there is only one right way and one wrong way to avoid nuclear catastrophe.

1982 June 5, Texas Monthly, volume 10, number 6, page 168:

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles

Oxford University Press
w:Oxford University Press

In a manner, or to a degree, that is abhorrent; with abhorrence.


abidingly

abidingly (comparative more abidingly, superlative most abidingly)

more abidingly (comparative)
most abidingly (superlative)


ablush

ablush (comparative more ablush, superlative most ablush)

more ablush (comparative)
most ablush (superlative)


abnormally

abnormally (comparative more abnormally, superlative most abnormally)

more abnormally (comparative)
most abnormally (superlative)

Living, as they did, in what appeared to me impenetrable darkness, their eyes were abnormally large and sensitive.

1895, H. G. Wells, chapter 6, in The Time Machine:

In an abnormal manner; in a way that deviates from a standard, norm, or average.


ably

ably (comparative more ably, superlative most ably)

more ably (comparative)
most ably (superlative)

From Middle English abeliche, abelyche, abilliche, abliche; equivalent to able + -ly.

ably done, planned, said


abloom

(postpositive) In or into bloom; in a blooming state; having flower blooms unfolding.

цъфтящ, разцъфтял, в разцвет

(postpositive) in or into bloom; in a blooming state


abominably

abominably (comparative more abominably, superlative most abominably)

more abominably (comparative)
most abominably (superlative)

He lit a fire in the dining-room, and the chimney was damp and smoked abominably, so that when he had fed full on tinned meats he was fain to let the fire go out and to sit in his fur-lined overcoat by the becindered grate, now fast growing cold, and smoke pipe after pipe of gloomy reflection.

1903, The Pall Mall Magazine, volume 30, page 304:

In an abominable manner; very odiously; detestably.


abashedly

abashedly (comparative more abashedly, superlative most abashedly)

more abashedly (comparative)
most abashedly (superlative)

George, at length, came forward abashedly toward him, and said, — "I have been greatly to blame, Robert, and am very sorry for what I have done.

1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, page 36:

meanwhile, no cash. Finally, Nichan asked me abashedly if perhaps I would lend him a few hundred rubles.

1956, Langston Hughes, I Wonder as I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey, page 156:

At the punchline, Moshe snorts in laughter, then abashedly suppresses the smile. Does a self-deprecating sense of humor—a comedic trope owned by the Jews—make the Nazi more human?

2018 October 8, “The Banality of the Eichmann Trial”, in Tablet Magazine:


abasedly

abasedly (comparative more abasedly, superlative most abasedly)

more abasedly (comparative)
most abasedly (superlative)


abortively

abortively (comparative more abortively, superlative most abortively)

more abortively (comparative)
most abortively (superlative)

In an abortive or untimely manner; immaturely; fruitlessly.


abandonedly

abandonedly (comparative more abandonedly, superlative most abandonedly)

more abandonedly (comparative)
most abandonedly (superlative)

For though the harpooneers, with the great body of the crew, were a far more barbaric, heathenish, and motley set than any of the tame merchant-ship companies which my previous experiences had made me acquainted with, still I ascribed this—and rightly ascribed it—to the fierce uniqueness of the very nature of that wild Scandinavian vocation in which I had so abandonedly embarked.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Chapter 28”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

In the first days of their love she had been his slave; she had admired him abandonedly.

1913, Willa Cather, O Pioneers!, Part 4, Chapter 1:


aboon

From Middle English abone, abowne, from abuven, from Old English abūfan (“above”).

The ceiling fair that rose aboon.

1819, Joseph Rodman Drake, The Culprit Fay:

(Scotland, British, Cheshire dialect) Above.


abovedeck

abovedeck (comparative more abovedeck, superlative most abovedeck)

more abovedeck (comparative)
most abovedeck (superlative)

Dress warmly so that you can stay abovedeck in the fresh air.

1983, Steven K. Katona, Valerie Rough, David T. Richardson, A Field Guide to the Whales, Porpoises, and Seals of the Gulf of Maine and Eastern Canada, page 20:

Abovedeck the air had been black with wind.

2004, Courtney Angela Brkic, Stillness: And Other Stories:

I wondered, sir, if you might like to accompany me abovedeck for some fresh air.

2010, Cheryl Cooper, Come Looking for Me:


abrood

abrood (comparative more abrood, superlative most abrood)

more abrood (comparative)
most abrood (superlative)

From Middle English abrod, equivalent to a- + brood.

The word in the original (as St. Hierom tells us from the Hebrew traditions) implies, that the Spirit of God sat abrood upon the whole rude mass, as birds upon their eggs, […]

1821, George D'Oyly, Hendrik Slatius, Henry Wharton, The life of William Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury:


abeam

abeam (comparative more abeam, superlative most abeam)

more abeam (comparative)
most abeam (superlative)

From a- (“in the direction of”) + beam (“keel”).

prefix

We were heading S.S.W., and had a steady breeze abeam and a quiet sea.

1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “'”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part II (The Sea Cook), page 83:

[…] waves striking the ship abeam pushed her always south of their new course, and rolled her, and filled her with water so that bailing must be ceaseless […]

1968, Ursula K. LeGuin, chapter 2, in A Wizard of Earthsea, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, published 2012, page 36:

(nautical, aircraft) On the beam; at a right angle to the centerline or keel of a vessel or aircraft; being at a bearing approximately 090 Degrees or 270 Degrees relative.

otstrani, perpendikuljarno na kila na koraba

отстрани, перпендикулярно на кила на кораба

(nautical, aircraft) Alongside or abreast; opposite the center of the side of the ship or aircraft.


abraid

From Middle English abrede. More at abread.


absently

en-adv

absently (comparative more absently, superlative most absently)

more absently (comparative)
most absently (superlative)

When he is in company he will sit absently muttering over a heap of Arabick, or in a Ciceronian attitude, declaim with all the vehemency of eloquence […]

1773 June, P.L.B., “A Character”, in The Sentimental Magazine, page 179:

1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Phase the Fourth, Chapter 34,
[…] his wife, flinging a shawl round her, had come to the outer room and was listening to the man's narrative, her eyes resting absently on the luggage and the drops of rain glistening upon it.

Absently, he picked a dew-wet leaf from the hibiscus shrub, crushed it in his palm, put it in his mouth and came towards her, chewing.

1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Penguin, published 1992, Part One, Chapter 1, p. 38:

In an absent-minded or abstracted manner.


aboard

From Middle English abord, from a- (“on”) + bord (“board, side of a ship”); equivalent to a- + board.

We all climbed aboard.

As the 1857 to Manchester Piccadilly rolls in, I scan the windows and realise there are plenty of spare seats, so I hop aboard. The train is a '221'+'220' combo to allow for social distancing - a luxury on an XC train as normally you're playing sardines, so I make the most of it.

2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:

On board; into or within a ship or boat; hence, into or within a railway car.

to sling a saddle aboard

He doubled with two men aboard, scoring them both.

The office manager welcomed him aboard.

The ships came close aboard to pass messages.

The captain laid his ship aboard the enemy's ship.


abruptly

abruptly (comparative more abruptly, superlative most abruptly)

more abruptly (comparative)
most abruptly (superlative)

The professor stopped her lecture abruptly when she noticed someone fall off their seat.

In an abrupt manner; without giving notice, or without the usual forms; suddenly; precipitously.


abstinently

abstinently (comparative more abstinently, superlative most abstinently)

more abstinently (comparative)
most abstinently (superlative)


ablaze

ablaze (comparative more ablaze, superlative most ablaze)

more ablaze (comparative)
most ablaze (superlative)

[…] with the spontaneous combustion the house smouldered ablaze.

1969, Ray Bradbury, “The Haunting of the New”, in I Sing the Body Electric!, New York: Knopf, page 143:

Lit up brightly and with color, gleaming.

In a state of glowing excitement or ardent desire.


absorbedly

absorbedly (comparative more absorbedly, superlative most absorbedly)

more absorbedly (comparative)
most absorbedly (superlative)

Michael O’Shea continued absorbedly gazing on the picture, till the welcome smell of a tumbler of Mr. Hoolagan’s whisky suddenly restored him to comparative serenity.

1841, R. B. Peake, “The Bequeathed Heart”, in The New Monthly Magazine, Volume 62, 1841 part 2, p. 36:

Fanny, red-cheeked and bright-eyed from her recent mental struggles, listened interestedly, then intently, then absorbedly.

1917, Edna Ferber, Fanny Herself, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, pages 65–66:

Carey could see her expression. It was the face of one who was deeply and absorbedly interested.

1943, Mary Norton, chapter 8, in The Magic Bed-Knob, New York: Hyperion:

Treslove was no Finkler. He could not lose his heart to more than one woman at a time. He loved too absorbedly for that. But he always knew when he was about to be thrown over and was quick to make provision, where he could, to love absorbedly again.

2010, Howard Jacobson, The Finkler Question, New York: Bloomsbury, Part One, Chapter Four, I, p. 86:

In a manner as if wholly engrossed or engaged.


abstractively

abstractively (comparative more abstractively, superlative most abstractively)

more abstractively (comparative)
most abstractively (superlative)

(now rare) In an abstract manner; in the abstract.


abstrusely

abstrusely (comparative more abstrusely, superlative most abstrusely)

more abstrusely (comparative)
most abstrusely (superlative)


abed

From Middle English abedde, o bedde, from Old English on (“in”) + bedde (“bed”). Equivalent to a- (“in, on”) + bed.

Not to be abed after midnight

c. 1564–1616, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, II, iii:

[She] is sick abed.

1883, Adele Marion Fielde, “倒 (tó̤)”, in A Pronouncing and Defining Dictionary of the Swatow Dialect, Arranged According to Syllables and Tones, Shanghai: American Presbyterian Mission Press, page 560:

The world was awake to the 2nd of May, but Mayfair is not the world, and even the menials of Mayfair lie long abed.

1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./4/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

Who can lie peacefully abed, while the darkness holds some secret?

1948, Alan Paton, chapter 12, in Cry, the Beloved Country, London: Jonathan Cape:

(archaic) In bed, or on the bed; confined to bed.

I mean, she's brought a-bed

c. 1564–1616, William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, IV, ii:


abusively

abusively (comparative more abusively, superlative most abusively)

more abusively (comparative)
most abusively (superlative)

In an abusive manner; rudely; with abusive language.


abstractly

abstractly (comparative more abstractly, superlative most abstractly)

more abstractly (comparative)
most abstractly (superlative)

From Middle English abstractly; equivalent to abstract + -ly.

Bernard Clark and Ethel were seated side by side on a costly sofa gazing abstractly at the parting guest.

1919, Daisy Ashford, chapter 5, in The Young Visiters:

matter abstractly considered


aboriginally

[…] man has lost that sense of the full awfulness of the sea which aboriginally belongs to it.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 58, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

[…] aboriginally the horse must have inhabited countries annually covered with snow, for he long retains the instinct of scraping it away to get at the herbage beneath.

1868, Charles Darwin, chapter 2, in The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, pages 52-53:

[…] music, like verse, can do rhythm but it is only poetry that can yoke words together in rhyme (sometimes, of course, and aboriginally, at the service of music).

2006, Stephen Fry, The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within, New York: Gotham, Part 2, Chapter 2, p. 145:

Xaymaca, as the island was aboriginally known, is situated in the Caribbean Sea […]

1896, Allan Eric, “Buckra” Land: Two Weeks in Jamaica, Boston, Appendix:

[…] in the New World, where pots were never aboriginally shaped by turning, wheeled vehicles also were absent […]

1973, Charles F. Hockett, chapter 31, in Man’s Place in Nature,, New York: McGraw-Hill, page 523:

The question is, was the disease [tuberculosis] present aboriginally in the New World, or was it introduced to Native Americans by European explorers?

1986, Robert L. Blakely, David S. Mathews, “What Price Civilization?”, in Miles Richardson, Malcolm C. Webb, editors, The Burden of Being Civilized: An Anthropological Perspective on the Discontents of Civilization, Athens: University of Georgia Press, page 12:

In the period before contact with Europeans (especially with reference to peoples subjected to colonization).

1987, Kate Irving, What Government Does in the Western Northwest Territories, Yellowknife: Western Constitutional Forum,
All land subject to the claim becomes either Crown land or aboriginally-owned land.

1991, Jim Harding, An Annotated Bibliography of Aboriginal-controlled Justice Programs in Canada, Prairie Justice Research, School of Human Justice, University of Regina, p. 80,
It appears that lack of funding and control led to the demise of this program, but that with further refinement the idea has merit especially within an Aboriginally-controlled justice system.

2002, Bradford W. Morse and Robert K. Groves, “Métis and Non-status Indians and Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867 in Paul L.A.H. Chartrand (ed.), Who Are Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples? Saskatoon: Purich Publishing, pp. 209-210,
These areas […] relate to the identity of Aboriginally predominant communities.

(Canada) By indigenous Canadians (often capitalized in this sense).

Though his rage against iniquity is aboriginally simple and childlike, and is certainly not always level-headed, it is never divorced from reason […]

1920, Greville MacDonald, The Sanity of William Blake, London: George Allen and Unwin, page 24:

There is something aboriginally absurd in the idea of the old gentleman staring wild-eyed at his own legs; and half recalling something familiar about them; as if he were revisiting the landscape of his youth.

1931, G. K. Chesterton, “Dickens at Christmas”, in Marie Smith, editor, The Spirit of Christmas: Stories, Poems, Essays, New York: Dodd, Mead, published 1985, page 77:

Dried apricots eaten with cake should be soaked and simmered first, eaten with cheese they should be aboriginally dry.

1978, Iris Murdoch, chapter 3, in The Sea, the Sea, London: Chatto & Windus, pages 181–182:

[…] those travellers who did make the trip [to the Western Isles] returned with stories which made Scotland and the Scots sound as aboriginally exotic as shark-eating Eskimos or man-eating pygmies.

2005, Bella Bathurst, chapter 5, in The Wreckers, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 152:

To the utmost degree (modifying an adjective).


abreast

From Middle English abrest. By surface analysis, a- (“on, at”) + breast, meaning “breasts (chests) in line, side-by-side and exactly equally advanced”; roughly “breast-by-breast”.

surf

Coordinate term: tandem

On Sunday afternoon it was as dark as night, with barely room for two riders abreast on a gradient that touches 20%.

2012 July 15, Richard Williams, “Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track”, in Guardian Unlimited:

The only path was narrow and rugged: two men could hardly walk abreast;

1859, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second:

Informed, well-informed, familiar, acquainted.

She believes it is important to keep abreast of new scientific developments.

Followed by of or with: up to a certain level or line; equally advanced.

The west wind blew a tempest, and, according to the common expression, brought in the water [of the Solway] three foot abreast.

(Scotland) Breast high (of an advancing wave).

(nautical) Side by side; also, opposite; on a line with the vessel's beam.

kyljittäin

nautical: side by side; also, opposite; over against; on a line with the vessel's beam

Abreast therewith began a convocation.

1842, Thomas Fuller, The Church History of Britain, From the birth of Jesus Christ until the year MDCXLVIII., 3rd edition, volume 1, page 412:

(obsolete) At the same time; simultaneously.


abysmally

en-adv

abysmally (comparative more abysmally, superlative most abysmally)

more abysmally (comparative)
most abysmally (superlative)

Abysmally ignorant

1879, George Eliot, Impressions of Theophrastus Such:

Am I alone in feeling smug (if slatternly) about the news that super-clean homes are a breeding ground for infection? Apparently, all that bleach is bad not just for germs but for children's immune systems, too, and paradoxically causes more disease than it prevents. Not round my gaff. Oh no. My standards of housekeeping are so abysmally low that my eldest daughter was three years old before she even developed a temperature.

2015 April 4, Judith Woods, “I knew it! Spring cleaning is bad for your family's health [print version: Vindicated at last! It's healthier to be a slatternly housewife, p. 28]”, in The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 2015-04-09:

Very; incredibly; profoundly; to an extreme degree; dreadfully.


absurdly

absurdly (comparative more absurdly, superlative most absurdly)

more absurdly (comparative)
most absurdly (superlative)

He orated absurdly.

Absurdly, he concluded his oration with a song.

The critics were absurdly extravagant with their praise.

By the year 1765, Richard `Dickie' Tattersall, the absurdly romantic self-styled soldier of fortune and indulged son of an obscenely well-off Yorkshire squire, was brimming with gratitude[.]

1996, Jon Byrell, Lairs, Urgers and Coat-Tuggers, Sydney: Ironbark, page 245:


accessarily

accessarily (comparative more accessarily, superlative most accessarily)

more accessarily (comparative)
most accessarily (superlative)


accessibly

accessibly (comparative more accessibly, superlative most accessibly)

more accessibly (comparative)
most accessibly (superlative)


accessorily

accessorily (comparative more accessorily, superlative most accessorily)

more accessorily (comparative)
most accessorily (superlative)

In the manner of an accessory; auxiliarily.


acceptedly

acceptedly (comparative more acceptedly, superlative most acceptedly)

more acceptedly (comparative)
most acceptedly (superlative)

Therefrom Boshy's saving propensities, being but the idiosyncrasies of the rich, were mercifully endured and spoken of by Mr. Civil. Even his amazing miserliness was passed over acceptedly, for of such are the kingdom of shepherd millionaires.

1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 195:


academically

academically (comparative more academically, superlative most academically)

more academically (comparative)
most academically (superlative)

From academical + -ly or academic + -ally.

academically disadvantaged demographic group

Academically, the football team is counter-productive.

In an academic style or way; from an academic perspective.


accommodately

accommodately (comparative more accommodately, superlative most accommodately)

more accommodately (comparative)
most accommodately (superlative)


acceptably

acceptably (comparative more acceptably, superlative most acceptably)

more acceptably (comparative)
most acceptably (superlative)

In an acceptable manner; in a manner to please or give satisfaction.


accordantly

accordantly (comparative more accordantly, superlative most accordantly)

more accordantly (comparative)
most accordantly (superlative)

[əˈkʰɔɹɾɨ̞nʔɫi]

In accordance or agreement; agreeably; conformably.


aback

From Middle English abak, from Old English onbæc, equivalent to a- (“towards”) + back. Compare West Frisian tebek (“aback”, adverb, literally “to/at back”), Swedish tillbaka (idem.).

cog

The mild, though licentious reign, of Louis the Sixteenth, threw France far aback, in her ambitious career; but it gave birth to that revolution, wherein, her warlike propensities and territorial resources were unfolded with tenfold efficacy.

1815, David Laurie, A Treatise on Finance, under which, the General Interests of the British Empire are Illustrated, Glasgow: Chapman, page 322:

Then stopped, and bounded aback, and away as if in fear, / That I saw her no more; then I wondered though sitting close anear / Was a she-wolf great and grisly.

1889, William Morris, A Tale of the House of the Wolfings and All the Kindreds of the Mark, London: Reeves & Turner, page 31:

(archaic) Towards the back or rear; backwards.

There are so many canes upon Reliance that the labourers could not cut those aback, as they prefer cutting those in front. The cane fields aback were in cultivation last year.

1840, “Proceedings of an Inquiry held at plantation Reliance, in the county of Essequibo”, in Papers Relative to the West Indies, 1841: British Guiana, London: H.M.S.O., published 1841, page 201:

(archaic) In the rear; a distance behind.

I would rather board a hundred of the enemy's frigates, than steer my boat into a fleet of modest women, for a modest woman never fails to take me aback.

1808, The Post-Captain: A View of Naval Society and Manners, 3rd edition, London: Thomas Tegg, page 165:

By surprise; startled; dumbfounded. (see usage)

Q. Was not the Trident at that time aback with one or more Top-sails? A. To the best of my Knowledge she had both Top-sails aback.

1757, Charles Fearne, The Trial of the Honourable Admiral John Byng, at a Court Martial, London: Manby, et al, page 89:

As the anchor fetches her up, she will swing head to wind, bringing the head sails aback.

1841, Benjamin J. Totten, Naval Text-book, Boston: Little & Brown, page 144:

Then the sails on the mainmast were backing and we started getting stern way. Eagle was caught aback.

2001, Russell Drumm, The Barque of Saviors, Houghton Mifflin, page 91:

(nautical) Backward against the mast; said of the sails when pressed by the wind from the "wrong" (forward) side, or of a ship when its sails are set that way.


abaft

en-adv

abaft (comparative more abaft, superlative most abaft)

more abaft (comparative)
most abaft (superlative)

From Middle English obaft, baft, baften, from Old English beæftan; be (“by”) (modern English by) + æftan (“behind”) (modern English after). See also aft.

We drifted with the wind abaft.

The mate sleeps abaft.

The Exchange also being farther from the fire, afterward was more easily cleared, and fell off from abaft.

1599, Nicholas Downton, “The firing and sinking of the stout and warrelike Carack called Las Cinque Llaguas”, in Richard Hakluyt, editor, The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, London, Volume 2, Part 2, p. 200:

By clapping the sails to the mast, and lightening the ship abaft, we swayed her off with little damage.

1785, John Rickman, Journal of Captain Cook’s Last Voyage, London: E. Newbery, Part 1, p. 103:

Stubb was struck by a shower of outcries and anathemas proceeding from the Captain’s round-house abaft;

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “'”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 452:

We cover our anterior nakedness with some philosophy—Christian, Marxian, Freudo-Physicalist—but abaft we remain uncovered, at the mercy of the winds of circumstance.

1954, Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception, New York: Perennial, published 1970, page 72:

(nautical) On the aft side; in the stern.


abroach

From Middle English abroche, from Norman, from Old French abroche (“to spigot”). Equivalent to a- + broach.

1709, Joseph Addison, The Tatler, No. 146, 16 March, 1709, Glasgow: Robert Urie, 1754, p. 115,
Jupiter, in the beginning of his reign, finding the world much more innocent than it is in this iron age, poured very plentifully out of the tun that stood at his right hand; but as mankind degenerated, and became unworthy of his blessings, he set abroach the other vessel, that filled the world with pain and poverty […]

[…] hogsheads of ale were set abroach, to be drained at the freedom of all comers.

1820, Walter Scott, chapter 11, in Ivanhoe, volume 3, Edinburgh: Archibald Constable, page 285:

(obsolete) Broached; in a condition for letting out or yielding liquor, as a cask which is tapped.

I doe the wrong, and first began to braule / The secret mischiefes that I set abroach, / I lay vnto the grieuous charge of others: […]

c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Sims [and Peter Short] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

I do the wrong, and am the first to begin to quarrel. / The secret mischiefs that I set afoot, / I blame on others: […]

1761, George Colman, The Genius, No. 6, 20 August, 1761, in Prose on Several Occasions, London: T. Cadel, 1787, Volume 1, p. 64,
When a person of high rank is destined for the victim, an emissary is dispatched to set the story abroach at some obscure coffee-house in the city, whence it speedily marches to its head quarters near the court:

(obsolete) In a state to be diffused or propagated.


according

according (comparative more according, superlative most according)

more according (comparative)
most according (superlative)

That apprehends no further than this world, / And squarest thy life according.

1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, V.i:


abundantly

abundantly (comparative more abundantly, superlative most abundantly)

more abundantly (comparative)
most abundantly (superlative)

From Middle English abundantly, abundauntli, habundantly, habundauntliche, equivalent to abundant + -ly.

And God said, Let the waters bring foorth aboundantly the mouing creature that hath life, and foule that may flie aboue the earth in the open firmament of heauen.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 1:20:

When strata are so unsymmetrically and abundantly folded that it becomes difficult or impossible to trace out the individual flexures and crumplings — the whole forming an irregular complex of folds — they are said to be contorted […]

1905, James Geikie, Structural and Field Geology: For Students of Pure and Applied Science:

Hodgson also has Wayne Rooney to call on once he has served a two-match suspension at the start of the tournament - and it is abundantly clear England will rely as heavily as ever on his ability to shape the outcome of important games.

2012 May 26, Phil McNulty, “Norway 0-1 England”, in BBC Sport:

Indian English is today one of the most widespread and abundantly used varieties of English, in extensive use not only throughout South Asia but in virtually every corner of the globe.

2018, James Lambert, “Anglo-Indian slang in dictionaries on historical principles”, in World Englishes, volume 37, page 248:

In an abundant manner; in a sufficient degree; in large measure.

The explosion, in other words, was unexpected, powerful, and politically diffuse; it vented sharp African frustrations with the colonial situation, but had no readily visible leadership or political goals; it made abundantly obvious the need to speed the pace of self-government

1980, Claude Emerson Welch, Anatomy of Rebellion:


everywhen

Everywhere and everywhen a man has to ‘pay with his life;’ to do his work, as a soldier does, at the expense of life.

1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 3, ch. VIII, Unworking Aristocracy:


accurately

accurately (comparative more accurately, superlative most accurately)

more accurately (comparative)
most accurately (superlative)

For much of the 20th century, the image of Mexico popularized abroad through film, music, art and literature was, more accurately, a portrayal of Jalisco state and especially its capital, Guadalajara.

2023 November 17, Michael Snyder, “A Guide to Guadalajara, Mexico’s City of Makers”, in The New York Times Style Magazine:

In an accurate manner; exactly; precisely; without error or defect.


absolutely

From late Middle English absolutly, equivalent to absolute + -ly.
First attested in 1425.

ref

“absolutely, adv.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely

In an absolute or unconditional manner; utterly, positively, wholly.

geheel op zichzelf staand

in a manner that does not take an object

Another characteristic of numbers, which does not concern their mutual relations so much as themselves absolutely, is their ability, according to the ideas of Nicomachus, to conform to geometrical arrangements.

1926, Nicomachus of Gerasa, Frank Egleston Robbins, Louis Charles Karpinski, translated by Martin Luther D'Ooge, Introduction to Arithmetic, New York: The Macmillan Company, page 50:

Independently; viewed without relation to other things or factors.

absoluut

independently; viewed without relation to other things or factors


accordingly

en-adv

accordingly (comparative more accordingly, superlative most accordingly)

more accordingly (comparative)
most accordingly (superlative)

From Middle English acordingli, equivalent to according + -ly.

He was absent when I called, and I accordingly left my card.

We may the number of ships behold, and so proceed accordingly.

c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ix]:

Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing. Yet oddly enough I found here a far more unlikely substance, and that was camphor. I found it in a sealed jar, that, by chance, I supposed had been really hermetically sealed. I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odor of camphor was unmistakable.

1895, H. G. Wells, chapter X, in The Time Machine:

From the Marvel Mixmaster to the Miracle Microwave, every time a new-fangled gadget has lobbed into the Aussie kitchen, Aussie mums have changed their cooking styles accordingly.

1987, Kerry Cue, Hang On To Your Horses Doovers, page 5:

(manner) Agreeably; correspondingly; suitably

съотве́тно

agreeably; correspondingly; suitably; in a manner conformable

Our preparations were all finished. Accordingly, we set sail.

Accordingly a young chap wearing his hat over the left eyebrow, some clerk I suppose, - there must have been clerks in the business, though the house was as still as a house in a city of the dead, - came from somewhere up-stairs, and led me forth.

1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 200:

(conjunctive) In natural sequence; consequently; so.


accidentally

accidentally (comparative more accidentally, superlative most accidentally)

more accidentally (comparative)
most accidentally (superlative)

He discovered penicillin largely accidentally.

In an accidental manner; by chance, unexpectedly.

պատահաբար

happening by chance, not necessarily a lucky one

κατά λάθος (katá láthos, literally “by mistake”)

He accidentally exposed the bacteria to mold spores.

As I arrived at the foot of the hill I overtook two ladies, whom I passed. As I did so, I brushed one of them accidently on the arm.

1899, Knut Hamsun, “Part I”, in George Egerton [pseudonym; Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright], transl., Hunger […], London: Leonard Smithers and Co […], →OCLC, page 15:

Robins, of Torquay, had denied a single charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. She claimed the microwave was accidentally turned on by one of the cats after the kitten got inside. But Knutton said the kitten was too small to even get onto the work surface.

2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:


ASAP

→ Finnish: asap

From the 1950's. First known use in the book of captain Annis G Thompson, involved in the Korean War titled The greatest Airlift (1954). Originally used in the meaning "as soon as militarily possible" by military forces.

Susan, please check those figures ASAP!

as soon as possible
as soon as possible#English


gratis

I know not how they sold themselves: but thou, like a kind fellow, gavest thyself away gratis; and I thank thee for thee.

c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:

Reaſon, you roague, reaſon: thinkſt thou Ile endanger my soule, gratis?

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 45:


abstractedly

abstractedly (comparative more abstractedly, superlative most abstractedly)

more abstractedly (comparative)
most abstractedly (superlative)

Doubtlesse, in the Idaea, or mentall shape before it come as it were into act, by beeing painted, cut, or carued, those terminating, and truly Mathematical lines, abstractedly considered, are manifest, adhering (or inhering rather) without any possibility of separation from the conceaued Image.

1610, Edmund Bolton, chapter 15, in The Elements of Armories, London: George Eld, page 89:

[I]t is abundant ſatisfaction to them if they ſee their children do vvell; their chief delight and contentment is in their childrens good abſolutely and abſtractedly, vvithout indirect regards to their ovvn advantage.

a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “An Exposition of the Decalogue. Honour Thy Father, and Thy Mother.”, in A Brief Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer and the Decalogue. […], London: […] M[iles] Flesher, for Brabazon Aylmer, […], published 1681, →OCLC, page 164:

Qu[estion] 8. VVhether the Notions of abſolute Time, abſolute Place, and abſolute Motion be not moſt abſtractedly Metaphyſical? VVhether it be poſſible for us to meaſure, compute, or knovv them?

1734, [George Berkeley], “Section L [Occasion of this Address. Conclusion. Queries.]”, in The Analyst; or, A Discourse Addressed to an Infidel Mathematician. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], →OCLC, page 77:

You remember the gentleman in “The Spectator,” who had a commission of lunacy taken out against him for his extreme singularity, such as never wearing a wig, but a night-cap. Now, Sir, abstractedly, the night-cap was best; but, relatively, the advantage was overbalanced by his making the boys run after him.

1791, James Boswell, quoting Samuel Johnson, “[1769]”, in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], volume I, London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 311:

[…] as the head of a beast is to be placed only upon its shoulders, so neither is a plant, however abstractedly treated, to be placed root uppermost […]

1852, John Pollard Seddon, chapter 3, in Progress in Art and Architecture, London: David Bogue, page 38:

In an abstracted manner; separately; in the abstract.

Leaning abstractedly over a hogshead of tallow, her dark dishevelled tresses waved in opposite directions, and a Muse (as she was) appeared to vulgar eyes, a Fury!

1806, Isaac D'Israeli, chapter 38, in Flim-Flams!, 2nd edition, volume 2, London: John Murray, page 219:

He is a man of the meditative claſs:—he walks the ſtreets abſtractedly:—as he goes he digeſts enterpriſes, fraught with world-wide benefits.

1860, Isaac Taylor, “Essay V. Epidemic Whims.”, in Ultimate Civilization and Other Essays, London: Bell and Daldy […], →OCLC, section I, page 257:

The farmer had never turned his head once, but with eyes fixed on the most advanced point along the road, passed as unconsciously and abstractedly as if Bathsheba and her charms were thin air.

1874, Thomas Hardy, chapter XII, in Far from the Madding Crowd. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC:

In Montreal, George Stephen was also thinking about money while he walked in sober mood from the Bank to the Canadian Pacific offices; one of the best-known figures in the city […] his passage along St. James Street was noted by many, and he nodded abstractedly to innumerable acquaintances.

1935, Alan Sullivan, chapter 10, in The Great Divide, London: Lovat Dickson & Thompson:

She looked up over the page, ran her eye abstractedly across the room, but gave no sign at all of seeing him.

2011, Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger’s Child, London: Picador, section 3, 3:


PM

Today the sun sets at 8:25 PM

The shops are open from 9AM to 5PM


abroad

First attested in mid 13th century. From Middle English abrood (“broadly widely scattered”), from a- (“on, in”) + brood (“broad”). Equivalent to a- + broad.

inh

A closer look at North Korean history reveals what Pyongyang’s leaders really want their near-farcical belligerence to achieve — a reminder to the world that North Korea exists, and an impression abroad that its leaders are irrational and unpredictable.

2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times:

Another prince, deposed by the Revolution, was living abroad.

1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XIV, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume 3:

Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries.

A tree spreads its branches abroad.

Again: The lonely fox roams far abroad, / On ſecret rapine bend and midnight fraud; […]

1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon, and other Poems on several Occasions:

(dated) At large; widely; broadly; over a wide space.

навсякъде

at large; widely; broadly; over a wide space

I went to St. James', where another was preaching in the court abroad.

p. 1650, John Evelyn, edited by William Bray, Diary, Frederic Warne and Company, published 1818, entry for 1650 July 7, page 207:

She spoke to Strickland in a language of her own, and whenever in her walks abroad she saw things calculated to destroy the peace of Her Majesty the Queen Empress, she returned to her master and gave him information.

1891, Rudyard Kipling, The Return of Imray:

Was it so irreconcilable, Warwick wondered, as still to peal out the curfew bell, which at nine o'clock at night had clamorously warned all negroes, slave or free, that it was unlawful for them to be abroad after that hour, under penalty of imprisonment or whipping?

1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter 1, in The House Behind the Cedars:

There were very few people abroad and the two men standing quietly under a tree on the opposite side of the boulevard looked out of place.

1953, Ian Fleming, chapter 6, in Casino Royale, page 34:

(dated) Without a certain confine; outside the house; away from one's abode.

на открито

without a certain confine; outside the house

This Peece, or Schisme of Suicisme, and Selfishnesse, hath spawned most of the Heresies and Schismes, that are abroad in the World.

1654, Richard Whitlock, Zootomia; Or, Observations on the Present Manners of the English:

But he went out, and beganne to publish it much, and to blase abroad the matter: insomuch that Iesus could no more openly enter into the citie, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from euery quarter.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 1:45:

(dated) Before the public at large; throughout society or the world; here and there; moving without restriction.

Not on target; astray; in error; confused; dazed.

(sports) Played elsewhere than one's home grounds.


BCE

Socrates was tried and executed in the year 399 BCE.

We now know that circa 1600 BCE, the angara were created and seeded across Heleus by the Jardaan. Records of this process are less substantial than ancient angaran history, but it was apparently in service of a grand experiment.

2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Angara: History Codex entry:

The earliest reliable accounts of Chinese eclipses come from Spring and Autumn Annals (Ch’un-ch’iu), recording eclipses from 772 to 481 BCE, including a total solar eclipse in 709 BCE.

2017, Mark Littmann, Fred Espenak, “Ancient Efforts to Understand”, in Totality: The Great American Eclipses of 2017 and 2024, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 38:

(chronology) Initialism of Before Common Era (Before the Common Era, before Common Era, before the Common Era), Before Current Era (Before the Current Era, before current era, before the current era), or before Christian Era.

пр.н.е.

преди новата ера=pred novata era

v. d. Z. (vor der Zeitrechnung/vor der Zeitenwende)

б. з. д.

біздің заманымызға дейін

п.н.е.

пред нашата ера=pred nášata éra


OS

You did the overseas trip. You went OS.

2015, Mick Houghton, I've Always Kept a Unicorn: The Biography of Sandy Denny:

I kind of expanded my circle a bit more when I went OS [overseas].

2022, The Betoota Advocate, The Australian Dream: Sell everything and move to Betoota, page 33:

(Australia, informal) Abbreviation of overseas.


sub rosa

en-adv

sub rosa (comparative more sub rosa, superlative most sub rosa)

more sub rosa (comparative)
most sub rosa (superlative)

/ˌsʌb ˈɹəʊzə/

/ˌsʌb ˈɹoʊzə/

Aphrodite
Eros
Harpocrates
Louis-Philippe Mouchy

PIE word
 *upó
The adverb and adjective are an unadapted borrowing from Late Latin sub rosā (literally “under the rose”), from Latin sub (“beneath, under”) + rosa (“rose”) (possibly from Ancient Greek ῥόδον (rhódon, “rose”), ultimately from Proto-Iranian *wardah (“flower; rose”) and Proto-Indo-European *Hwerdʰ-, possibly a metathesis of *h₁lewdʰ- (“to grow; to rise”)). The reason for the reference to a rose is uncertain, though it has been suggested that it derives from the Ancient Greek myth that Aphrodite (the goddess of love) gave a rose to her son Eros (the god of love and sex), who in turn gave it to Harpocrates (the god of silence, confidentiality, and secrets) to ensure that Aphrodite’s sexual indiscretions were not revealed. Roses thus became a symbol of secrecy—they were, for example, used at meetings to pledge the participants not to disclose what had been discussed. Compare under the rose which is attested earlier.
The noun is derived from the adverb and adjective.

ubor

They held the meeting sub rosa.

By the by, I wonder some of you lawyers (sub rosa, of course) have not quoted the pithy lines in Mandeville […]

1833 July 1, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Mandeville’s Fable of the Bees—Bestial Theory—Character of Bertram—Beaumont and Fletcher’s Dramas—Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides—Milton”, in H[enry] N[elson] C[oleridge], editor, Specimens of the Table Talk of the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge. […], volume II, London: John Murray, […], published 1835, →OCLC, pages 203–204:

I run my boat into New York, buy from Yankee firms, sub rosa, of course, and away I go.

1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, chapter IX, in Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC, part II, page 188:

Covertly or in secret; confidentially, privately, secretly.


AD

They had a vibrant culture from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD.

Today is 5 November AD 2024.

Founded Aᴼ.Dᴵ. 1728 by Benj. Franklin

1916 September 23, The Saturday Evening Post, volume 189, number 13, page 3:

There is a striving towards naturalism in agricultural scenes painted on bricks in tombs of the third century AD recently excavated at Chia-yü-kuan in Kansu Province which is reminiscent of later European illuminated manuscripts such as the English fifteenth-century Luttrell Psalter in the British Library.

1979, Paul Hulton, Lawrence Smith, “Naturalism in Sung China”, in Flowers in Art from East and West, Jarrold and Sons, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 3:

But keep on the lookout for the 1st-century-a.d. stele on the right wall, with symbols of the deceased’s civic scribely duties (a scroll and codex), and the fresco remnants around to the left.

2010, John Moretti, “Perugia, Assisi & Northern Umbria”, in Florence, Tuscany & Umbria (Frommer’s), 7th edition, Wiley Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, section 2 (Assisi: An Artistic Pilgrimage), page 393:

(often punctuated) Initialism of Anno Domini (borrowed from Latin); in the year of our Lord.

Anno Domini

Doodaatsaahii biʼdizhchį́į́ dóó bikʼijįʼ


BC

A.D.

anno Domini, Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord

Calque of Latin ante Christum, popularized with the 1627 publication of De doctrina temporum by French theologian Denis Pétau.

The Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 BC to AD 220.

[...]Hi vang, King of Yen and of Corea, was defeated, taken and killed in the Year 259 before the Birth of Chriſt, according to the Chineſe Hiſtory, and Tſin vang was acknowledged for Emperor of all China by the Name of Tſin chi hoang ti.

[1739 [1735], P. Du Halde, “Geographical Obſervations on the Kingdom of Corea”, in The General History Of China, 2nd edition, volume IV, →OCLC, page 388:

eKr. (ennen Kristusta / ennen Kristuksen syntymää)

ई.पू.

ईसा पूर्व (īsā pūrv)

[older] a. Chr. n. / a. C. (ante Christum natum)

kaɓla wakati rilio nuwo (kabla wakati rilio nuwo)

[obsolete] p.n.Chr. (przed narodzeniem Chrystusa)

до Р. Хр.

до Рождества́ Христо́ва

క్రీ.పూ.

క్రీస్తు పూర్వము (krīstu pūrvamu)

до Р. Хр.

до Різдва́ Христо́вого


AFAIK

as far as I know
as far as I know#English

(informal, Internet slang, text messaging) Initialism of as far as I know.


dat

Pronuctiation spelling of that,
representing dialects with th-stopping. Compare Dutch dat, Low German dat, and German dat.

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(dialectal, nonstandard, African-American Vernacular, MLE, Ireland, foreign accents, or humorous) Pronunciation spelling of that.

African-American Vernacular; foreign accents; African-American Vernacular; foreign accents


Tuesday

/ˈt͡ʃʉːzdæe/

From Middle English Tewesday, from Old English tīwesdæġ (“Tuesday”), from Proto-West Germanic *Tīwas dag (“Tuesday”, literally “Tiw's Day”).
This was a Germanic interpretation of Latin diēs Mārtis, itself a translation of Ancient Greek Ἄρεως ἡμέρα (Áreōs hēméra) (interpretatio romana). Cognate with Scots Tysday (“Tuesday”), Saterland Frisian Täisdai (“Tuesday”), West Frisian tiisdei (“Tuesday”), dialectal German Ziestag (“Tuesday”), Danish tirsdag (“Tuesday”), Swedish tisdag (“Tuesday”), Finnish tiistai (“Tuesday”). More at Tyr, day.

cog

(US, Canada, informal in UK) On Tuesday.


currently

en-adv

currently (comparative more currently, superlative most currently)

more currently (comparative)
most currently (superlative)

All the beds of the hotel are currently occupied, but we have a free room tomorrow.

I'm currently living with my parents while I find a new job.

He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record. With this biological framework in place, Corning endeavors to show that the capitalist system as currently practiced in the United States and elsewhere is manifestly unfair.

2012 March-April, John T. Jost, “Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)?”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 2012-02-13, page 162:


AM

Alternative form of a.m. (“before noon”)


andante

(music) Played at a moderately slow tempo.


whatever

From Middle English whatever. By surface analysis, what + ever.

There is no point whatever in going on with this discussion.

He is quite unconscious; and, though your presence is a relief to me, you must remember that there is no hope - no hope whatever.

1874, Dorothy Henrietta Boulger, True to her trust; or, 'Womanly past question', page 236:

So then arose the horrible confusion perpetuated ever since, of perversely different kinds of weights, jostling each other in Britain; Troy weight and Avoirdupois weight and Apothecaries' weight, wherein or whereamongst every one is at sea with regard to testing them, and no one whatever is satisfied.

1864, Charles Piazzi Smyth, Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid, page 207:

Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.

1910, Emerson Hough, “The Purchase Price”, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

In the third place, the superelevation and alignment of the track, theoretically calculated for speeds of 70 to 75 m.p.h., was adequate for the 80 to 85 m.p.h. or so normally attained as maxima over the G.N. main line; but nothing whatever had been done to prepare it for the enormous increment over these figures that this run was to produce.

1941 June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 263:

His repetitive toil is his life and reality, and it goes on forever, and it is without any meaning whatever.

1999, Louis P. Pojman, Life and Death: A Reader in Moral Problems, page 112:

(with negative) At all; in any way; whatsoever.

Whatever does it matter now?

(interrogative) In what way; to what extent.


Friday

From Middle English Friday, from Old English frīġedæġ. Compound of frīġe and dæġ (“day”), from Proto-West Germanic *Frījā dag, a calque of Latin diēs Veneris, via an association (interpretātiō germānica) of the goddess Frigg with the Roman goddess of love Venus.
Compare West Frisian freed, German Low German Freedag, Friedag, Dutch vrijdag, German Freitag, Danish fredag.
Old Norse Frigg (genitive Friggjar), Old Saxon Fri, and Old English Frīġ are derived from Proto-Germanic *Frijjō. Frigg is cognate with Sanskrit प्रिया (priyā́, “wife”). The root also appears in Old Saxon fri (“beloved lady”); in Swedish fria, in Danish and Norwegian as fri (“to propose for marriage”); a related meaning exists in Icelandic as frjá (“to love”) and similarly in Dutch vrijen (“to make love (to have sex)”).
Compare Japanese 金曜日.


the

From Middle English the, thy, thi, from Old English þē̆, probably a neuter instrumental form ("by that, thereby")—alongside the more common þȳ and þon—of the demonstrative pronoun sē ("that"). Compare Dutch des te ("the, the more"), German desto ("the, all the more"), Norwegian fordi and Norwegian av di ("because"), Icelandic því (“the; because”), Faroese tí, Swedish ty.

kúllama kāna ʾárḵaṣ kāna ʾáfḍal ‘the cheaper the better’

كُلَّمَا كَانَ... كَانَ ... (example: كلما كان أرخص كان أفضل *

越……越……

example: 越热越好 yuè rè yuè hǎo "the hotter the better"

(conditional -reba + dictionary form + hodo + adjective 2) adj.1 + れば + adj.1 程 + adj.2 (...reba...hodo) (example: 暑ければ暑い程良い atsukereba atsui hodo ii "the hotter the better")

quanto + comp. , comp. (ex: quanto mais quente, melhor "the hotter the better")

чем + comp., тем + comp. (čem + comp., tem + comp.)

The hotter(,) the better. (comma usually omitted in such very short expressions)

The more I think about it, the weaker it looks.

The more money donated, the more books purchased, and the more happy children.

It looks weaker and weaker, the more I think about it.

With a comparative or with more and a verb phrase, establishes a correlation with one or more other such comparatives.

It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it.

It was a difficult time, and I’m {none - not any} the wiser for it.

I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that.

With a comparative, and often with for it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated with none.

indicating a result like the comparative

No word accompanies the comparative in this usage.

We went the furthest under her leadership.

They trusted him the most.

(with a superlative adjective) Beyond all others.


global

en-adv

global (comparative more global, superlative most global)

more global (comparative)
most global (superlative)

From globe + -al; compare French global.

Coca-Cola, for example, shifted its stance, unsuccessfully, between “think global, act global” and “think local, act local” during the tenures of three different CEOs in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

2016, Vinod K. Jain, Global Strategy: Competing in the Connected Economy, page 122:


Saturday

From Middle English Saterday, from Old English sæterdæġ, earlier sæternesdæġ (“Saterday”, literally “Saturn's day”), from Proto-West Germanic *Sāturnas dag; a translation of Latin diēs Saturnī. Compare West Frisian saterdei (“Saturday”), Dutch zaterdag (“Saturday”), German Low German Saterdag (“Saturday”).

Saturday (disambiguation)
Week-day names

(US, Canada, informal in UK) On Saturday.


also

From Middle English also, alswo, alswa (also als(e), as, whence English as), from Old English eallswā (“just like, also”), from Proto-West Germanic *allswā, equivalent to all + so. Cognate with Scots alsa, alswa (“also, even so, in the same way, as, as well”), Saterland Frisian also (“accordingly, therefore, thus”), West Frisian alsa (“so, just so, even so, thus”), Old Saxon alsō (“similarly, as if, just as, when”), Dutch alzo (“so, thus”), German also (“so, thus”), Danish altså (“so”), Norwegian Bokmål altså (“so, therefore, accordingly, thus”), Norwegian Nynorsk altso (“so, accordingly, therefore, thus”), Swedish alltså (“so, therefore, accordingly, thus, then”). Doublet of as. More at all, so.

cog

Everyone had eggs for breakfast, but Alice also had toast.

The subject of denoting is of very great importance, not only in logic and mathematics, but also in the theory of knowledge.

Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor;[…].

1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:

Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.

2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

(conjunctive, focus) In addition; besides; as well; further; too.

𑜀𑜦𑜡

in addition; besides; as well; further; too

[…] thereupon the queen's majesty […] did send a solemn ambassade of her privy-counsellors, whereof one was an ancient earl of the realm, the other also an ancient baron of the same, and others of the council of her state […]

c. 1709, John Strype, Annals of the Reformation and Establishment of Religion:

(obsolete) To the same degree or extent; so, as.


precipitously

en-adv

precipitously (comparative more precipitously, superlative most precipitously)

more precipitously (comparative)
most precipitously (superlative)

In a precipitous manner.
Abruptly; quickly.

Never will I visit it again; it is a place of evil omen.' After a very brief halt for breakfast we pressed on with such good will that by two o'clock in the afternoon we were at the foot of the vast wall of rock that formed the lip of the volcano, and which at this point towered up precipitously above us for fifteen hundred or two thousand feet.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

In a precipitous manner.
At a sharp upwards angle.


Thursday

From Middle English Thursday, Thuresday, from Old English þursdæġ, þurresdæġ (“Thursday”), possibly from a contraction of þunresdæġ (“Thursday”, literally “Thor's day”), but more likely of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse þórsdagr; all from Proto-West Germanic *Þunras dag (“day of the thunder god”). Compare West Frisian tongersdei, German Low German Dunnersdag, Dutch donderdag, German Donnerstag, Danish torsdag. More at thunder, day.
A calque of Latin diēs Iovis (diēs Jovis), via an association (interpretātiō germānica) of the god Thor with the Roman god of thunder Jove (Jupiter).

der

Week-day names
thursday (disambiguation)

(US, Canada, informal in UK) On Thursday.


Monday

From Middle English Monday, Monenday, from Old English mōnandæġ (“day of the moon”), from Proto-West Germanic *mānini dag, a translation (interpretātiō germānica) of Latin diēs Lūnae, equivalent to Moon + day. Compare Saterland Frisian Moundai (“Monday”), West Frisian moandei (“Monday”), German Low German Maandag, Moondag, Maondag (“Monday”), Dutch maandag (“Monday”), German Montag (“Monday”), Pennsylvania German Mundaag (“Monday”), Danish mandag (“Monday”), Swedish måndag (“Monday”), Norwegian Bokmål mandag (“Monday”), Norwegian Nynorsk måndag (“Monday”), Icelandic mánudagur (“Monday”), Finnish maanantai (“Monday”).
Compare Japanese 月曜日.

inh

We've worked out the schedule for Easter week: We'll be shopping Monday […]


about

Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *ana-
Proto-West Germanic *ana-
Old English on-?
Proto-West Germanic *biūtan
Old English būtan?
Old English onbūtan
Middle English aboute
English about
Preposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”). Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”).
Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).

omkring

to a reversed order, or opposite direction

I looked about at the scenery that surrounded me.

Why, then, I see, ’tis time to look about, / When every boy Alphonsus dares control.

1599, Robert Greene, The Comical History of Alphonsus King of Aragon, III-ii:

Bits of old machinery were lying about.

Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.

walking about;  rushing about;  jumping about;  thrashing about

1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, 1 Timothy, v,13,
And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

He and Gerald usually challenged the rollers in a sponson canoe when Gerald was there for the weekend; or, when Lansing came down, the two took long swims seaward or cruised about in Gerald's dory, clad in their swimming-suits; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous,[…].

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

From one place or position to another in succession; indicating repeated movement or activity.

messing about;  fooling about;  loafing about

Indicating unproductive or unstructured activity.

It’s about as cold as it was last winter.

He owes me about three hundred dollars.

Dinner’s about ready.

I was so scared, I about fainted.

Therefore I know she is about my height.

c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Matthew, xx, 3,
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace

Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.

1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Exodus, ix, 18

And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Exodus, xxxii,28

“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.[…]”

I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […].

2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:

Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost.

to face about;  to turn oneself about

Mr. Carter, whose back had been turned, turned about and faced his niece.

To a reversed order; half round; facing in the opposite direction; from a contrary point of view.

We went about and headed offshore.

(nautical) To the opposite tack: see go about.

When he had finished, he drew his plaid around his head, and went slowly down to the little dell, where he used every day to offer up his morning and evening prayers, and where we have often sat together on Sabbath afternoons, reading verse about with our children in the Bible.

1818, James Hogg, published in The Scots Magazine, Vol. 86, p. 218, "On the Life and Writings of James Hogg" https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=W-5HAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA128&dq=%22reading+verse+about+with+our+children%22 [Quoted in the OED]

(obsolete or rare) In succession; one after another; in the course of events.

The island was a mile about, and a third of a mile across.

(archaic) In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; in circumference.


most

From Middle English most, moste, from Old English mǣst, māst, from Proto-Germanic *maistaz, *maist. Cognate with Scots mast, maist (“most”), Saterland Frisian maast (“most”), West Frisian meast (“most”), Dutch meest (“most”), German meist (“most”), Danish and Swedish mest (“most”), Icelandic mestur (“most”).

-а́йший (-ájšij) (suffixes follow an adjective form)

This is the most important example.

Correctness is most important.

With some of it on the south and more of it on the north of the great main thoroughfare that connects Aldgate and the East India Docks, St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 77:

“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes[…]. And then, when you see [the senders], you probably find that they are the most melancholy old folk with malignant diseases. […]”

1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

Forms the superlative of many adjectives.

This is a most unusual specimen.

Most cruel edict! Sure, thy generous soul, Septimius, abhors the dreadful task of persecution.

1750, “Theodora”, Thomas Morell (lyrics), George Frideric Handel (music):

A noble craft, but somehow a most melancholy!

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Ship”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 77:

Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing.

1895 May 7, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Palace of Green Porcelain”, in The Time Machine: An Invention, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 162:

“His song is most unpleasant,” said the King rubbing his head, “pray bid him cease,” and off went the secretary to argue with the wind.

1922, Ruth Plumly Thompson, “The Last Giant”, in The Princess of Cozytown, P. F. Volland, page 80:

To a great extent or degree; highly; very.

Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too.

2013 August 3, “Boundary Problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:


most

A well-daiquiried redhead eyed him from across the room at Jilly's one night in 1963 — although it could have been most any night ever […]

1998, Bill Zehme, The Way You Wear Your Hat: And the Lost Art of Livin' (page 181)

"We walked there most every day after school."

2000, Jewish Baltimore: A Family Album, →ISBN, page 159:

“Can't be all that bad if Luke likes it. Most everywhere has air-conditioning, he says.”

2011, Charlotte Maclay, Wanted: A Dad to Brag About, →ISBN:


y

Abbreviations.
y
# (stenoscript) the sound sequence /ɔɪ̯/.
# (stenoscript) Abbreviation of why.
# (stenoscript) the suffix -ry or -rry.

(slang, text messaging, Internet slang) Abbreviation of why.


above

From Middle English above, aboven, abuven, from Old English ābufan, onbufan, from on (“on”) + bufan (“over”), (akin to Icelandic ofan (“from above”), Middle Dutch bōven, Old Frisian bova, Middle High German bobene) from bī (“by”) + ufan (“over”); also cognate with Danish oven, Dutch boven, German oben, Swedish ovan, Old Saxon oƀan, Old High German obana.
The preposition, adjective and the noun derive from the adverb.

Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.

2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80:

Directly overhead; vertically on top of.

Nobody has lived in it since the summer of 1879, and it is fast going to pieces. For some three years before the date mentioned above, it was occupied by the family of Charles May

1913, Ambrose Bierce, Present at a Hanging and Other Ghost Stories:

That angels are men in the most complete form, and enjoy every sense, may be seen above (n. 73-77); and that the light in heaven is far brighter than the light in the world (n. 126-132).

1905, Emanuel Swedenborg, chapter 19, in Heaven and Hell:

Higher in the same page; earlier in the order as far as writing products go.

He’s in a better place now, floating free as the clouds above.

In a higher place; upstairs; farther upstream.

He appealed to the court above.

It was a cold day at only 5 above.

The sparrow I saw was rufous above and off-white below.

(biology) On the upper half or the dorsal surface of an animal.


offset

en-adv

offset (comparative more offset, superlative most offset)

more offset (comparative)
most offset (superlative)

From off- + set, used to construct the noun form of the verb to set off. Compare Middle English ofsetten (“to encumber, harass, beset, besiege”), from Old English ofsettan (“to press, oppress, overwhelm, crush”).

cog

Offset Riley is romantically involved with Alexandra Maria Lara, who plays lan Curtis's lover Annik Honoré in Control.

Anita's pianoises are made offset for her by Norma Boleslawski, wife of late, great director Richard Boleslawski.

2014, Ivan Raykoff, Dreams of Love: Playing the Romantic Pianist, page 82:

'Are the pubs open?' When the reply came back that they were indeed open, he would say, 'Then fuck your quarterly,' and rush offset, even though the break wasn't meant for the actors.

2018, Frank Henson, Luck of Losing the Toss:

Not only did the cast and crew get along on set, that camaraderie continued offset as well.

2021, Padraic Maroney, It All Began With A Scream:

For his scenes in alien form Bowie had to spend up to five hours each day in make-up: offset he painted, wrote and read voraciously.

2022, Stephen Glynn, David Bowie and Film: Hooked to the Silver Screen, page 56:

Away from or off from the set of a movie, film, video, or play.


rape

en-adv

rape (comparative more rape, superlative most rape)

more rape (comparative)
most rape (superlative)

From Middle English rapen, from Old Norse hrapa (“to fall, rush headlong, hurry, hasten”), from Proto-Germanic *hrapaną (“to fall down”). Cognate with Norwegian rapa (“to slip, fall”), Danish rappe (“to make haste”), German rappeln (“to hasten, hurry”).


Wednesday

From Middle English Wednesday, Wednesdai, from unattested Old English *wēdnesdæġ (“Wednesday”), synchronically an i-mutated form of attested wōdnesdæġ (itself from Proto-West Germanic *Wōdanas dag, its reflex Middle English Wodnesdei falling into disuse), from Proto-West Germanic *Wōdinas dag also attested in Old Frisian wednesdei and Middle Dutch wenesdach. In any case, a calque (interpretātiō germānica) of Latin diēs Mercuriī (“day of Mercury”) and Koine Ancient Greek ἡμέρα (hēméra, “day”) Ἑρμοῦ (Hermoû, “of Hermes”), via an association of the god Odin (“Woden”) with Mercury and Hermes.
Cognate with West Frisian woansdei (“Wednesday”), Afrikaans Woensdag (“Wednesday”), Dutch woensdag (“Wednesday”), Limburgish woonsdig (“Wednesday”), Dutch Low Saxon woonsdag (“Wednesday”), German Low German Woonsdag (“Wednesday”), dialectal German Wodenstag (“Wednesday”), Danish onsdag (“Wednesday”), Norwegian Bokmål onsdag (“Wednesday”), Norwegian Nynorsk onsdag (“Wednesday”), Swedish onsdag (“Wednesday”).
See also Japanese 水曜日 (Mercury's day).

cog

(US, Canada, informal in UK) On Wednesday.


false

en-adv

false (comparative more false, superlative most false)

more false (comparative)
most false (superlative)

From Middle English false, fals, from Old English fals (“false; counterfeit; fraudulent; wrong; mistaken”), from Latin falsus (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman and Old French fals, faus. Compare Scots fals, false, Saterland Frisian falsk, German falsch, Dutch vals, Swedish and Danish falsk; all from Latin falsus. Displaced native Middle English les, lese, from Old English lēas (“false”); See lease, leasing. Doublet of faux.
The verb is from Middle English falsen, falsien, from Old French falser, from Latin falsō (“falsify”), itself also from falsus; compare French fausser (“to falsify, to distort”).

cog

Sweet Lord, you play me falſe.

1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], page 17, column 2:

In a dishonest and disloyal way; falsely.


BID

It has been repeatedly documented that moving patients from a TID dosing regimen to BID or OD vastly improves compliance, and thus the medicine's effectiveness.

2014 April, Ken. Seufert, “The New Dawn of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: Innovative Solutions for Unprecedented Challenges”, in American Pharmaceutical Review:

(pharmacology) twice a day, two times per day


slow

en-adv

slow (comparative slower, superlative slowest)

slower (comparative)
slowest (superlative)

From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“bad”). Cognate with Scots slaw (“slow”), West Frisian sleau (“slow, dull, lazy”), Dutch sleeuw (“blunt, dull”), Low German slee (“dull, sluggish”), German schlehe, schleh (“dull, exhausted, faint”), Danish sløv (“dull, torpid, drowsy”), Swedish slö (“slack, lazy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted, slow”).

inh

That clock is running slow.

I want to dance with you nice and slow

Let him have time to mark how slow time goes / In time of sorrow.

1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:


outdoors

From outdoor (adjective) + -s (adverbial genitive suffix), earlier out (of) doors.

suffix

They went outdoors to light up their cigarettes.

Not inside a house or under covered structure; unprotected; in the open air.


free

en-adv

free (comparative more free, superlative most free)

more free (comparative)
most free (superlative)

From Middle English free, fre, freo, from Old English frēo (“free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frī, from Proto-Germanic *frijaz (“beloved, not in bondage”), from Proto-Indo-European *priHós (“pleased, loved”), from *preyH- (“to please, love”). Related to friend.
cognates, etc
Germanic cognates include West Frisian frij (“free”), Dutch vrij (“free”), Low German free (“free”), German frei (“free”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian fri (“free”).
Other cognates include Russian приятель (prijatelʹ, “friend”) and Sanskrit प्रिय (priyá-, “beloved”).
Germanic and Celtic are the only Indo-European language branches in which the PIE word with the meaning of "dear, beloved" acquired the additional meaning of "free" in the sense of "not in bondage". This was an extension of the idea of "characteristic of those who are dear and beloved", in other words friends and tribe members (in contrast to unfree inhabitants from other tribes and prisoners of war, many of which were among the slaves – compare the Latin use of liberi to mean both "free persons" and "children of a family").
The verb comes from Middle English freen, freoȝen, from Old English frēon, frēoġan (“to free; make free”), from Proto-West Germanic *frijōn, from Proto-Germanic *frijōną, from Proto-Indo-European *preyH-.

inh

I got this bike free.

Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics.

1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:

I as free forgive you / As I would be forgiven.

c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, Henry VIII, published 1623:


o'clock

Shortened form of "of the clock", from Middle English of the clokke [from late 14th c.].

eenuur

indication of time (the translations below are of "one o’clock")

We are expected to be there at six o'clock in the morning!

It is two o'clock.

(rare, nonstandard) What o'clock is it?

I say, Watson, what o'clock is it?

1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2011:

By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.

1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:

Shortly before five o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday, April 12, 1945, after the Senate adjourned, I went to the office of House Speaker Sam Rayburn. I went there to get an agreement between the Speaker and the Vice-President on certain legislation and to discuss the domestic and world situation generally. As I entered, the Speaker told me that Steve Early, the President's press secretary, had just telephoned, requesting me to call the White House.

1955, Harry S Truman, chapter 1, in Memoirs of Harry S. Truman: Year of Decisions, volume I, Signet Books, published 1965, →OCLC, →OL, page 14:

(modifying a numeral, one to twelve) In conjunction with a numeral, indicates the time within a twelve-hour period (midnight to noon or noon to midnight), specifically the time when the hour hand of a clock points precisely to the symbol or marking corresponding to the designated numeral.

السَّاعَة الْوَاحِدَة

the translations below are of "at one o’clock"

That same evening at tea-time — (I am sorry to have to introduce you to another eating-scene, but the hours in English households are usually marked by repasts. It is a daily calendar of feasts — breakfast o’clock, dinner o’clock, &c.,[…]).

1880, Henrietta A. Duff, Honor Carmichael, page 251:

“My sister requires your attendance at supper o’clock this evening — no excuse accepted.”

1904, George Augustus Sala, Edmund Hodgson Yates, Temple Bar, volume 129, page 144:

“It's lunch o’clock. Wanna go out to eat?”

1998, Carolyn Greene, Heavenly Husband, page 129:

(humorous) In conjunction with a term representing an action or event that occurs daily, indicates the time that said action or event occurs, first occurs.

We're here at Waffle House, and it's waffles o'clock!
We're here at Waffle House, and it's time to eat waffles.

(humorous, slang) Used to indicate that it is time to do a specific action, or time for a specific action to occur.

It's at nine o'clock about two feet in from the edge of the branch. You need to know your "o'clocks" (nondigital) to spot birds.

1989, Aileen R. Lotz, Birding around the year: when to find birds in North America:

Without moving your head, move your gaze upward to look at twelve o’clock. Now look down at six o’clock. Repeat three times, then blink several times, and rest with your eyes closed.

1992, Herbert Benson with Eileen M. Stuart and Staff of the Mind/Body Medical Institute of New England Deaconess Hospital and Harvard Medical School, The Wellness book, page 86:

Thus, you could tell them to "look at three o'clock," or "look just off-center toward nine o'clock," and so forth. Alternatively, in some microscopes a thin black line appears to cut across the field of view

1994, Peter Abramoff with Robert G. Thomson, Laboratory outlines in biology--VI, page 22:

Three o'clock and nine o'clock would be at the outer right and outer left sides of the tree, respectively, and so on. The clock technique is a very helpful way for one bird watcher to direct others to a hard-to-spot perched bird.

1997, Bill Thompson, Bird watching for dummies:

At 1057 we were just over the islands and at 1100 the tail gunner reported flak at six o’clock, below.

1943 November 29, “Target: Germany”, in Life, page 80:

(with a numeral, one to twelve) In conjunction with a numeral, indicates the direction, relative to the speaker or a vehicle, especially an aircraft, corresponding to the direction the hour hand is pointing at the time corresponding to the numeral, with twelve representing directly ahead on a horizontal plane, or directly up on a vertical plane, and three being to the right on either.


on

off

antonym(s) of “active, functioning, operating”

Etymology tree
Proto-West Germanic *ana
Old English on
Middle English on
English on
From Middle English on, from Old English on, an (“on, upon, onto, in, into”), from Proto-West Germanic *ana, from Proto-Germanic *ana (“on, at”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-.
Cognate with North Frisian a (“on, in”), Saterland Frisian an (“on, at”), West Frisian oan (“on, at”), Dutch aan (“on, at, to”), Low German an (“on, at”), German an (“to, at, on”), Swedish å (“on, at, in”), Faroese á (“on, onto, in, at”), Icelandic á (“on, in”), Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ana), Ancient Greek ἀνά (aná, “up, upon”), Albanian në (“in”); and from Old Norse upp á: Danish på, Swedish på, Norwegian på, see upon.

etymon

Southern US, Midland US, Philadelphia, Baltimore

turn the television on

The lid wasn't screwed on properly.

Put on your hat and gloves.

drive on, rock on

He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent protests that the ball had crossed the line but referee Phil Dowd and assistant referee Andrew Garratt waved play on, with even a succession of replays proving inconclusive.

2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:

and so on

He rambled on and on.

Ten years on, nothing had changed in the village.

That horse is twenty-to-one on, so you need to stake twenty pounds just to win one pound.

Of betting odds, denoting a better-than-even chance. See also odds-on.

on-puolella

cricket: in, or towards the half of the field on the same side as the batsman's legs


because

From Middle English bi cause, from bi (“by”) + cause, modelled on Old French par cause.

My life is ruined because of you!

And God blessed the seuenth day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his worke, which God created and made.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 2:3:


bone

From Middle English bon, from Old English bān (“bone, tusk; the bone of a limb”), from Proto-Germanic *bainą (“bone”), from *bainaz (“straight”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike, beat”).
Cognate with Scots bane, been, bean, bein, bain (“bone”), North Frisian bien (“bone”), West Frisian bien (“bone”), Dutch been (“bone; leg”), German Low German Been, Bein (“bone”), German Bein (“leg”), German Gebein (“bones”), Swedish ben (“bone; leg”), Norwegian and Icelandic bein (“bone”), Breton benañ (“to cut, hew”), Latin perfinēs (“break through, break into pieces, shatter”), Avestan 𐬠𐬫𐬈𐬥𐬙𐬈 (byente, “they fight, hit”). Related also to Old Norse beinn (“straight, right, favourable, advantageous, convenient, friendly, fair, keen”) (whence Middle English bain, bayne, bayn, beyn (“direct, prompt”), Scots bein, bien (“in good condition, pleasant, well-to-do, cosy, well-stocked, pleasant, keen”)), Icelandic beinn (“straight, direct, hospitable”), Norwegian bein (“straight, direct, easy to deal with”). See bain, bein.

cog

GWF, well almost anyway, 40, bone-lonely, desperately needs a friend in Southern Maine.

1979 December 22, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 2, number 22, page 18:

Used before an adjective as an intensifier


yesterday

From Middle English yesterday, yisterday, ȝesterdai, ȝisterdai, from Old English ġiestrandæġ, ġister dæġ, ġestor dæġ, ġeostran dæġ. Compare Scots yisterday, yesterday (“yesterday”), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌰𐌳𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (gistradagis, “tomorrow”, adverb). Compare further Dutch gisteren, German gestern. By surface analysis, yester- + day.

I started to watch the video yesterday, but could only finish it this evening.

कल

may refer to tomorrow, depending on the context

I want this done yesterday!


early

en-adv

early (comparative earlier, superlative earliest)

earlier (comparative)
earliest (superlative)

From Middle English erly, orely, arely, erliche, arliche, from Old English ǣrlīċe, ārlīċe (“early; early in the morning”, adverb), equivalent to ere + -ly. Cognate with Old Norse árliga, árla ( > Danish årle, Swedish arla, Norwegian årle, Faroese árla).

We finished the project an hour sooner than scheduled, so we left early.

No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46:

At a time before expected; sooner than usual.

[T]thoſe that ſeeke me early, ſhall find me.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 8:17, column 1:

You must wake and call me early, call me early, mother dear; / Tomorrow 'ill be the happiest time of all the blythe Newyear; […]

1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “The May Queen”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza I, page 90:


Sunday

From Middle English Sonday, from Old English sunnandæġ (“day of the sun”), from sunne (“sun”), + dæġ (“day”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunnōn dag, as a translation (interpretātiō germānica) of Latin diēs Sōlis; declared the "venerable day of the sun" by Roman Emperor Constantine on March 7, 321 C.E..
Compare Saterland Frisian Sundai (“Sunday”), German Low German Sünndag, Dutch zondag, West Frisian snein, German Sonntag, Danish søndag.


now

From Middle English now, nou, nu, from Old English nū, from Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu, from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots noo (“now”), Saterland Frisian nu (“now”), West Frisian no (“now”), Dutch nu, nou (“now”), German nu, nun (“now”), Norwegian Bokmål nå (“now”), Norwegian Nynorsk no (“now”), Swedish and Danish nu (“now”), Icelandic nú (“now”), Latin num (“even now, whether”), Latin nunc (“now”), Albanian ni (“now”), Lithuanian nù (“now”), Avestan 𐬥𐬏 (nū, “now”), Sanskrit नु (nu, “now”).

even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then

Now I am six.

Stop that now, Jimmy!

Now, we all want what is best for our children.

Now Jimmy, stop that.

Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter III, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

(sentential) Used to introduce a point, a qualification of what has previously been said, a remonstration or a rebuke.

Now I am ready.

We all now want the latest toys for our children.

We all want what is now best for our children.

Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

Differently from the immediate past; differently from a more remote past or a possible future; differently from all other times.

Now he remembered why he had come.

He now asked her whether she had made pudding.

The pudding was now ready to be served.

Now listen, we must do something about this.

I always used to do my shopping now, to avoid the rush.

(informal) At the present point of a recurring cycle or event.

They that but now, for honour and for plate, / Made the sea blush with blood, resign their hate.

c. 1656, Edmund Waller, Of a War with Spain, and Fight for Sea:

(obsolete) As 'but now': Very recently; not long ago; up to the present.

Now, you want to protect me. An hour ago, you were mercilessly bullying me!

Used to address a switching side, or sharp change in attitude from before. (In this usage, now is usually emphasized).

His face fit his roles: now smiling, now earnest, now glowering, now raging.


last

From Middle English laste, latst, syncopated variant of latest.

When we last met, he was based in Toronto.

How long is't now since last yourself and I / Were in a mask?

c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:

I'll go last as I have to add the butter last.

last but not least

Pleased with his idol, he commends, admires, / Adores; and, last, the thing adored desires.

1717, William Congreve, Samuel Croxall, John Dryden, Laurence Eusden, John Ozell, “Book X”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

(sequence) after everything else; finally


today

From Middle English today, to-daie, todæig, from Old English tōdæġ, tō dæġe (“today”, literally “on [the/this] day, [this] day forward”), equivalent to to + day. Compare Saterland Frisian däälich (“today”), Dutch vandaag (“today”), Old Saxon hindag (“today”, literally “[this] day forward”), German Low German vandage, vandaag (“today”), Swedish i dag, idag (“today”).

cog

I want this done today.

Today, my brother went to the shops.

In the 1500s, people had to do things by hand, but today we have electric can openers.

Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.

2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:

In the current era; nowadays; these days.

deesdae

nowadays — see also nowadays, these days

We used to prepare everything today, but now we split it over two days.

(informal) The day of a recurring cycle or event which is currently happening.


hell

From Middle English helle, from Old English hell, from Proto-West Germanic *hallju, from Proto-Germanic *haljō (“concealed place, netherworld”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälle (“hell”), West Frisian hel (“hell”), Dutch hel (“hell”), German Low German Hell (“hell”), German Hölle (“hell”), Norwegian helvete (“hell”), Icelandic hel (“the abode of the dead, death”). Also related to the Hel of Germanic mythology. See also hele.

cog

‘[…] I know whether a boy is telling me the truth or not.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
Did he hell. They never bloody did.

1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, →OCLC, section II, page 24:

(postpositional) Alternative form of the hell or like hell.

That was hell good!

They're hell sexy.

(Australia, New Zealand, colloquial, sometimes vulgar) Very; used to emphasize strongly.


first

From Middle English first, furst, ferst, fyrst, from Old English fyrest, from Proto-West Germanic *furist, from Proto-Germanic *furistaz (“foremost, first”), superlative of Proto-Germanic *fur, *fura, *furi (“before”), from Proto-Indo-European *per-, *pero- (“forward, beyond, around”), equivalent to fore + -est.
Cognate with North Frisian foarste (“first”), Dutch voorste (“foremost, first”), German Fürst (“chief, prince”, literally “first (born)”), Swedish först (“first”), Norwegian Nynorsk fyrst (“first”), Icelandic fyrstur (“first”).
Other cognates include Sanskrit पूर्व (pūrva, “first”) and Russian первый (pervyj).

cog

Clean the sink first, before you even think of starting to cook.

I plunged nose first into the water.

That concertina was a wonder in its way. The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.

1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia.

2013 June 29, “Unspontaneous combustion”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 29:

I first witnessed a death when I was nine years old.

(Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, nonstandard) Now.


big

en-adv

big (comparative bigger, superlative biggest)

bigger (comparative)
biggest (superlative)

Inherited from Northern Middle English big, bigge (“powerful, strong”), possibly from a dialect of Old Norse. Ultimately perhaps a derivative of Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bu- (“to swell”), in which case big would be related to bogey, bugbear, and bug.
Compare dialectal Norwegian bugge (“great man”), Low German Bögge, Boggelmann.

der

He's always talking big, but he never delivers.

He won big betting on the croquet championship.

Don't miss our November sale — it's your last chance to save big before Christmas!

I've always been big into sport, but I'm especially big into football.

In a large amount or to a large extent.
(informal) (modifying a preposition)

In a large amount or to a large extent.
(modifying a preposition)

You've got to think big to succeed at Amalgamated Plumbing.

'You've got to put it over big,' he was saying in a loud nasal voice.

1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 3, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 25:

He hit him big and the guy just crumpled.


new

en-adv

new (comparative more new, superlative most new)

more new (comparative)
most new (superlative)

From Middle English newe, from Old English nīewe, from Proto-West Germanic *niwi, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *néwyos (“new”), from *néwos.
cognates
Cognate with Scots new (“new”), West Frisian nij (“new”), Dutch nieuw (“new”), Low German nee (“new”), German neu (“new”), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ny (“new”), Icelandic nýr (“new”), Faroese nýggjur (“new”), Latin novus (“new”), Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “new”), Welsh newydd (“new”), Russian но́вый (nóvyj, “new”), Armenian նոր (nor, “new”), Persian نو (“now”),Northern Kurdish nû (“new”), Hindi नया (nayā, “new”), Tocharian B ñuwe (“new”).
Compare also Old English nū (“now”). More at now. Doublet of nuevo and novuss.

Near-synonym: recently

new-born, new-formed, new-found, new-mown

Synonym of newly, especially in composition.

They are scraping the site clean to build new.


dar

African-American Vernacular form of there