along

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /əˈlɒŋ/, US /əˈlɑːŋ/, /əˈlɔːŋ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English along, inherited from Old English andlang (“entire, continuous; alongside of”),^[2][3] a compound, from Old English and- (“opposite, against”) + lang (“long”).^[2][4][5] The prefix comes from Proto-Germanic *andi-, from Proto-Indo-European *anti (“against”).^[2] It matches Old Saxon antlang,^[6] and was reinforced by the Old Norse cognate endlangr.^[2] The n and d before l were lost, as in eleven.^[7] It is related to long, endlong and anti-.^[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alongside of: Old English andlang, 887.^[3] As an adjective it meant “extending lengthwise”, a use only found in Old English.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old English the preposition came to mean “through the whole length of”.^[2] Of position, “lengthwise”, it dates from about 1200, and of movement, “onward”, from about 1300.^[2] The sense “in company, together”, as in come along, is from the 1580s^[2] or 1600.^[8] All along, “throughout”, is from the 1690s.^[2]

Timeline

• 887 – Old English andlang.^[3]
• c. 1200 – lengthwise.^[2]
• c. 1300 – onward.^[2]
• 1580s – in company.^[2]
• 1690s – all along.^[2]

Modern meaning

Preposition

1. Over the length of: along the road.
2. On a line parallel to and close beside.
3. In accordance with: along party lines.

Adverb

1. Forward, onward.
2. As a companion; together: come along.
3. At hand, with one: bring a map along.
4. Advanced to some degree: well along.

Word family

• alongside
• alongshore
• upalong
• come-along
• sing-along
• go along
• get along
• all along

Related words

• long
• endlong

Usage notes

A separate archaic and dialect word along, as in along of “owing to, on account of”, comes from Old English gelang.^[6]

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 h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)