Etymologically
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away

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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
  • 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