afoot

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English afote, also a foten and o fote,^[2][3] formed from Middle English a- (“on”) + fote (“foot”),^[3][4][5] a reduction of the phrase on fote (“on foot”).^[6][5][4] The second element is the dative plural or the dative singular of fot (“foot”),^[3][4] and the Middle English Dictionary traces the word to Old English on fōtum (“on feet”),^[2] from fōt (“foot”).^[3][5] The Shorter Oxford and Hoad see the influence of Old Norse á fótum (“on feet”) as well.^[7][4] The OED also notes a 20th-century regional form afeet in Arkansas, made on the plural feet after afoot.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

On foot, as opposed to on horseback: c. 1275, in the Caligula manuscript of Laȝamon's Brut (composed perhaps before 1200), as a foten, of men going on foot while others rode.^[6][2] Etymonline dates the word to about 1200.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Middle English used afote also for foot soldiers (folk afote, men afote).^[2] From being on one's feet the word came to mean up and about, astir or on the move (before 1400 for the adverb, 1530 for the adjective), a sense now chiefly northern and Scottish;^[6][5][8] the English Dialect Dictionary records it in Scotland, Cumberland and north Yorkshire especially of someone able to walk again after an illness.^[8] From about 1585 it meant in active existence or progress, in circulation, often of something underhand,^[6][9] and Etymonline traces the figurative sense "in active operation" to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (1601).^[5] Johnson (1755) gave both "on foot; not on horseback" and "in action", as in "a design is afoot".^[10] The phrase the game is afoot is now used after Shakespeare;^[6] Weekley takes it from Henry IV, Part 1.^[6][11]

Timeline

• c. 1275 – adverb and adjective, on foot as opposed to on horseback.^[6][2]
• before 1400 – adverb, on one's feet; up and about, astir.^[6]
• 1530 – adjective, upright on one's feet; astir, on the move.^[6]
• c. 1585 – in active existence or progress; in circulation.^[6][9]
• before 1594 – adjective, of something underhand, active, current.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Going on; in progress, operation or circulation, often of something secret or improper: Rumours of a merger were afoot in the office.^[12][3][6]
2. Up and about; no longer bedridden: He was afoot again a week after the fever broke.^[3][6][8]

Adverb

1. On foot; walking: The pilgrims travelled afoot across the hills.^{[12][3][6][7]}
2. On the move; astir.^[3][6][7]

Related words

• foot
• a-
• on

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins