away

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈweɪ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English awei, awey,^[2][3] inherited from Old English aweg, a late reduction of earlier on weg (“on the way”),^[3][2][4] formed from on (see a-) and weg (“way”) (see way).^[5][2][6] The sense of the original phrase was “on one's way”, that is, to another place.^[7][8] It can be compared with Old High German in wëg (“on the way”) and Middle High German enwëc, modern German weg (“away”).^[7][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

On one's way, onward (921); from this or that place, to a distance (918), in the Anglo-Saxon period.^[10][11] Barnhart dates on weg to about 725, in Beowulf.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The old sense “on one's way, onward” survives in Scottish and northern English, as in come away “come along”.^[10][6] The meaning “from one's own or usual place” dates from about 1300, “from one state or condition to another” from the mid-14th century, and “out of one's possession” (give away, throw away) from about 1400.^[3][10] The colloquial use for “without delay”, as in fire away and right away, comes from the earlier sense “onward in time” (16th century);^[3][11] away for storage or safekeeping (put away) dates from 1567.^[11] “At such a distance”, as in a mile away, is recorded by 1712, and the intensive use in away back is American from 1818.^[3][11] Of sports fixtures played on the opponents' ground it dates from 1890 as an adverb and 1886 as an adjective.^[11][3] In criminal slang away means “in prison”, first in Australia (1894).^[11][12] In Scottish English away can also mean dead, mad or in a faint.^[13][14]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English on weg, in Beowulf.^[7]
• c. 1150 – awei.^[2]
• c. 1300 – from one's usual place.^[3]
• mid-14th century – from one condition to another.^[3]
• c. 1400 – out of one's possession.^[3][10]
• 16th century – onward in time; continuously.^[3][11]
• 1567 – into storage or safekeeping.^[11]
• 1712 – at a stated distance.^[3]
• 1818 – intensive, as in away back (US).^[3][11]
• 1886 – of a sports fixture, at the opponents' ground.^[11]
• 1894 – in prison (Australia).^[11]

Modern meaning

Adverb

1. From a particular place: ran away.
2. At or to a distance in space or time: a mile away, two weeks away.
3. In another direction; aside: looked away.
4. Into a proper place for storage or safekeeping: put the toys away.
5. Out of existence: the music faded away.
6. So as to remove or eliminate: scraped the paint away.
7. From one's possession: gave the money away.
8. Continuously; steadily: hammering away.
9. Freely, without hesitation: fire away.
10. By a long distance: away back in 1910.

Adjective

1. Absent; not at home: away for the weekend.
2. Distant in space or time.
3. Of a sports fixture, played at the opponents' ground.
4. (baseball) Out: two away.
5. (slang) In prison.

Noun

1. An away game.

Word family

• awayness

Related words

• way
• aweigh
• a-

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., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
10. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
12. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
13. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
14. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge