adrift

Etymology

It is formed from English a- (“on”) + drift,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} probably after afloat.^[2] Weekley and Skeat explain the prefix as standing for on.^[7][8] Drift is a Middle English noun formed on the verb drive.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In or into a drifting condition, without being moored, steered or propelled: 1578, in Best's True Discourse.^[2][9] Etymonline dates the word to the 1620s,^[3] and Dictionary.com to 1615–25.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The adjective, drifting, is recorded from 1626.^[2] Figurative use followed in the late 17th century:^[3] from 1690 adrift meant away from the usual or expected course, loose or awry,^[2] and Johnson (1755) quoted Locke on keeping minds from "running adrift".^[11] Of people it has meant lacking purpose or direction, lost or confused, since 1818.^[2][12] Originally in naval use it also meant unfastened or detached (1834), and missing:^[2][5][13] Grose's slang dictionary of 1785 already has the sense "missing",^[13] and a sailor or soldier who is absent without leave has been adrift since 1919.^[2][13] In sport, since the 1970s, a competitor adrift of another is behind them in position or score.^[2]

Timeline

• 1578 – drifting, without mooring or steering.^[2][9]
• 1626 – adjective, drifting.^[2]
• 1690 – away from the usual course or position; loose, awry.^[2]
• 1785 – slang, missing.^[13]
• 1818 – of people, lacking purpose or direction; lost.^[2]
• 1834 – nautical, unfastened, detached.^[2]
• 1919 – of a serviceman, absent without leave.^[2][13]
• 1971 – sport, behind a competitor in position or score.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Floating without being moored, anchored or steered; drifting: The dinghy was cut adrift in the storm.^[12][9][2]
2. (informal) Off course; amiss: Their plans went badly adrift.^[12][2]
3. Loose; no longer fastened.^[2][5]

Adjective

1. Without purpose, guidance or direction; aimless or lost.^[12][9][2]
2. (chiefly sport) Behind a competitor or a target in score or position.^[2]
3. (nautical) Absent without leave.^[2][13]

Related words

• drift
• afloat
• drive

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
8. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ a b c d e f Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com