afloat

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English aflote,^[2][3] inherited from Old English on flote, a phrase of on and the dative of flot (“water deep enough for a ship, the sea”),^[3][4][5][6] the source of the noun float.^[4][7] Flot is related to the past participle of flēotan (“to float”).^[6] The first element was reduced to a-, as in afoot and afield.^[7][8] In Middle English the word was probably reinforced by Anglo-Norman a flote (“afloat”), recorded before 1235, and by its apparent model Old Norse á flot.^{[7][9][10][5]} Hoad and the Shorter Oxford think that from the 16th century it was probably formed anew.^[5][9] Until the 17th century it was often written with a space between its parts.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Floating, at sea: in Old English, in a royal charter of Cnut to Christ Church, Canterbury,^[7] where a ship is said to be á-flote at full tide.^[6] Merriam-Webster dates it to before the 12th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From floating on water the word moved to being on board a ship (about 1536), to being flooded (1562), and to things buoyed up in the air (1713).^[7] Its figurative senses came early: free of debt (1538, in a letter of Latimer), adrift (1566), current or circulating, as of rumours (1571), and active or astir (1604).^[7] In finance it was used from 1785 of bills in circulation.^[7] From 1810 it meant established in a career.^[7] Johnson (1755) gave the figurative sense "in motion", quoting Shakespeare's "On such a full sea are we now afloat".^[11] In slang, afloat meant drunk from 1641.^[12]

Timeline

• Old English – floating, at sea.^[7][3]
• c. 1536 – on board ship.^[7]
• 1538 – free of debt, solvent.^[7]
• 1562 – flooded, overflowing.^[7]
• 1566 – adrift, unsettled.^[7]
• 1571 – current, in circulation.^[7]
• 1641 – drunk (slang).^[12]
• 1713 – floating in the air.^[7]
• 1810 – established in a career or in society.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Floating on water; not sinking or aground: The patched canoe stayed afloat.^[13][3][7]
2. At sea; on board a ship.^[13][3][7]
3. Floating or hanging in the air.^[3][7]
4. Covered with water; flooded.^[13][7]
5. Free of debt; solvent: The loan kept the bakery afloat.^[13][7]
6. In circulation; going about: Stories about the mayor were afloat.^[13][7]
7. Drifting without aim or control.^[13][7]

Related words

• float
• fleet
• afoot
• afield

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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 Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
13. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins