alright

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ɔːlˈraɪt/, US /ɔːlˈraɪt/, /ɑːlˈraɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is a spelling of all right as one word,^[2][3][4] compounded of all and right.^[5] MWU traces it to Middle English alright, alriht.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a frequent spelling of all right it is attested in print by 1884 in Etymonline, 1887 in Merriam-Webster and 1893 in the OED;^[2][7][4] MWU gives a first known use of 1662.^[6] A Middle English adverb alright “just, exactly” is from about 1175.^[4]

Semantic evolution

According to Merriam-Webster, the one-word spelling appeared some 75 years after all right itself came back into use after an absence of 400 years.^[7] Fowler wrote that there was no such form, though it was often seen in manuscript even if printers seldom let it appear.^[2] Unlike altogether and already, which merged much earlier, alright is not recorded until the end of the 19th century.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1175 – Middle English alright, “exactly”.^[4]
• 1884 – the modern spelling in print.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adverb

1. A variant spelling of all right.

Adjective

1. A variant spelling of all right: satisfactory, or safe and well.

Related words

• all right
• already
• altogether

Usage notes

Since the early 20th century some critics have insisted that alright is wrong, but it has defenders and users, especially in journalism, business writing and fictional dialogue.^[7] Many people still consider it unacceptable in formal writing, although single-word forms such as altogether have long been accepted,^[9][3] and the American Heritage Dictionary labels it nonstandard.^[10]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin