everyday

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈev.ri.deɪ/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from every and day,^[2][3] first as a noun, then as an adjective from the phrase every day.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, a weekday as opposed to Sunday: the late 14th century in Etymonline, about 1374 in the OED, now dialect.^[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective, worn on ordinary days as opposed to Sundays and high days, is from the 1630s (1632 in the OED, about 1623 in MWU).^[2][5][4] Of or belonging to every day, daily, is from 1647,^[5] and met with every day, common or ordinary, from 1763.^[2][5] It was also used of commonplace, mediocre people.^[3] Everydayness is from 1840.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1374 – a weekday.^[5]
• c. 1623 – first known use as an adjective.^[4]
• 1632 – worn on weekdays.^[5]
• 1647 – daily.^[5]
• 1763 – common, ordinary.^[2][5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Ordinary and usual; happening or used every day: everyday life.

Word family

• everydayness

Related words

• every
• day

Usage notes

Everyday is an adjective used before a noun, while the adverbial phrase every day, meaning “each day”, is written separately.^[6]

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 e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009), 5th ed., Harlow: Pearson Longman