everyday
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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
- 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
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ 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
- ^ Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009), 5th ed., Harlow: Pearson Longman