Etymologically
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alright

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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.

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