Etymologically
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although

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ɔːlˈðəʊ/, US /ɔːlˈðoʊ/, /ɑːlˈðoʊ/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound, from English all + though,[2][3][4] at first written separately, al thagh,[5][3] with all in its once common emphatic use.[3] Hoad compares the same use of all in albeit.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Admitting that, in spite of the fact that: about 1325, in the form althagh.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The OED explains that all though was at first more emphatic than plain though, but that by 1400 it was little more than a variant, and so came to be written as one word;[3] Barnhart adds that the stress on the first syllable was lost in the 14th century.[2] Etymonline notes that the choice between although and though is often a matter of metre.[3] The informal spelling altho' is also found.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1325 – althagh.[2]
  • c. 1400 – a mere variant of though.[3]

Modern meaning

Conjunction

  1. In spite of the fact that; even though.
  2. But, and yet: it's cheap, although not very good.

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary notes that although and though are usually interchangeable, but that although usually begins its clause, while though can come elsewhere and is more common in linking words or phrases, as in wiser though poorer.[8]

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin