afford

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /əˈfɔːd/, US /əˈfɔːrd/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English aforthen, earlier iforthen,^[2][3] inherited from Old English ġeforþian (“to put forth; further, advance; carry out, accomplish”),^[4][2][5] from the completive prefix ge-, which regularly became a- in Middle English, and forþian “to further”, from forþ, the source of forth.^[4][2][5] In the 16th century the prefix was respelled af- in the mistaken belief that the word was Latin, with ad-,^[4][2][5] and th became d, as in burden and murder.^[4][2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

“To forward to completion, perform, accomplish”: about 1050 in the OED,^[6] late Old English in Etymonline.^[4] The spelling afford is from 1588, in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The notion of “accomplish” gradually became “to be able to bear the expense of, have enough money for”, from the late 14th century,^[4][7][5] and the original senses died out.^[4] “To manage to give, to spare” is from about 1449.^[6] Of things, “to be capable of yielding”, it is from the 1580s,^[4] 1581 in the OED, the sense in afford an opportunity,^[6][4] and “to give, furnish, grant” from 1596,^[6] the 16th century in Hoad.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – to accomplish.^[6]
• late 14th century – to have the means.^[4]
• c. 1449 – to manage to give.^[6]
• 1581 – to yield.^[6]
• 1588 – the spelling afford.^[2]
• 1596 – to furnish, grant.^[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To have enough money to pay for: can't afford a car.
2. To be able to spare or give up: can't afford the time.
3. To be able to do without risk: we can't afford to wait.
4. To provide or make available: the hill affords a fine view.

Word family

• affordability
• affordable
• affordably

Related words

• forth
• further

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press