Etymologically
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anew

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 03:53. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /əˈnjuː/[1]
  • US: /əˈnu/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English anewe, a reduced form of the phrase of newe,[2][3][4] inherited from Old English of nīwe (“anew, again”),[3][5][6][7] a phrase combining of (“of, from”) and nīwe (“new”), the source of new.[3][5] Hoad and Dictionary.com think the phrase was probably modelled on Old French de neuf,[4][8] and Hoad also compares Latin dē novō.[4] The OED notes that the first element was also reinterpreted as a reduced form of the prefixes y- and on-, and compares the Old English adverbs ednīwe and ednīwan, which it replaced.[2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Once more, again, afresh: about 1305, in an English lyric of the 13th century;[2] Etymonline dates a neue to about 1300.[7] Merriam-Webster places the first use of the sense before the 12th century,[3] counting the Old English phrase, which Skeat cites from the Rushworth Gospels (John 3:7).[6]

Semantic evolution

The phrase was written as one word mainly from about 1400, according to Etymonline,[7] while Hoad dates the established form anew to the 16th century.[4] In late Middle English it also meant "recently, of late", as opposed to of old, a sense that died out after 1517.[2][9] Tyndale used it in 1528 for "in a new or different way", and the Coverdale Bible in 1535 for "as something new, from scratch".[2] Johnson (1755) gave "over again; another time; repeatedly" as its most common use.[10] A verb anew, to renew or revive, was used from about 1440 to 1579.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1305 – once more, again, afresh.[2][7]
  • c. 1400 – the one-word form becomes the usual one.[7]
  • before 1425 – recently, of late (obsolete after 1517), in the Romaunt of the Rose.[2]
  • c. 1440 – verb, to renew or revive (obsolete after 1579).[2]
  • 1528 – in a new or different way, in Tyndale.[2]
  • 1535 – as something new, from scratch, in the Coverdale Bible.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Once more; again or afresh: After the fire they had to build the barn anew.[5][3][2]
  2. In a new or different way or form: She told the old story anew for her grandchildren.[5][3][2]
  3. As something new; from scratch.[2]
  4. (obsolete, 1425–1517) Recently; of late.[2][9]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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 Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.