long

long¹ of great length or duration

Etymology tree of long¹

inherited borrowed derived

Old English lang

English long

From the same root · long¹

English along ← lang

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Middle English long, also lang in the earlier manuscripts and in northern dialects,^[2][3] inherited from Old English lang, long,^[4][2] from Proto-Germanic *langaz.^[4][5][6] Its cognates are Old Frisian lang, Old Saxon lang, Middle Dutch lanc, Dutch lang, Old High German lang, German lang, Old Norse langr and Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌲𐍃 (laggs).^[2][4][6] The o of the English word shows the Old English tendency of short a to become o before n, as in bond beside band.^[4] How it is related to Latin longus (“long”) is disputed or unclear;^[6][7] Etymonline takes both from Proto-Indo-European *dlonghos-, also the source of a Persian and a Sanskrit word for "long", from the root *del- (“long”) of Ancient Greek δολιχός (dolikhós, “long”),^[4][8] and Kroonen explains the Germanic adjective as a nasalized form of the same root.^[5] The Latin word, the source of prolong, elongate and longitude, is thus probably a cognate, not the source of the English one,^[4] although Weekley thinks that French long has also contributed to the English word.^[9] The adverb is lange, longe, formed from the adjective.^[4][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having great extent from end to end: Barnhart dates Old English lang before 725 and the adverb about 725, in Beowulf.^[2] In Old English the adjective also meant "tall" and, of time, "lasting".^[4][11]

Semantic evolution

The old sense "tall" is now regional.^[11][4] Applied to time, "drawn out in duration", the word is also Old English, and the noun, "a long time", is recorded probably about 1200.^[4][2] A long vowel, recorded about 1000, was originally one held for a longer time.^[4] Later phrases include for long (about 1300), no longer (about 1300), the long and the short of it (about 1500) and not long for this world (1714).^[4] Weekley notes that in the long run was earlier at the long run, apparently after French à la longue.^[9] From 1788 a drink served in a tall glass was long,^[11] and in American slang to be long on something, to have plenty of it, dates from 1900.^[4] Long in the tooth was first said of horses, whose gums recede with age.^[12] The farewell so long is first recorded in 1865; its origin is uncertain, and Barnhart rejects the suggestion that it is an alteration of salaam.^[2] In Scotland and the north of England the word kept the form lang.^[13]

Timeline

• before 725 – adjective, of great length; also tall and lasting.^[2][4]
• c. 725 – adverb, for a long time, in Beowulf.^[2]
• c. 1000 – of a vowel, long.^[4]
• c. 1200 – noun, a long time.^[2]
• c. 1300 – for long and no longer.^[4]
• c. 1500 – the long and the short of it.^[4]
• 1611 – longish, in Cotgrave's dictionary.^[2]
• 1788 – of a drink, served in a tall glass.^[11]
• 1808 – long division.^[4]
• 1865 – so long, goodbye.^[2]
• 1900 – long on, having plenty of (American slang).^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Extending a great distance from end to end: a long corridor.^[14][15][3]
2. Lasting a great time: a long wait at the station.^[14][15]
3. Of a specified length or duration: The film is two hours long.^[14][15]
4. Made up of many items: a long list of complaints.^[14][15]
5. Tall; having great height.^[14][11]
6. Of a vowel or syllable, held for a longer time, or (of a vowel) differing in quality from its short counterpart.^[14][4]
7. Of a drink, served in a tall glass.^[11]

Adverb

1. For a long time: They had long suspected him.^[14][3]
2. At a point of time far from the one referred to: long ago.^[14][3]
3. Throughout a specified period: all night long.^[14][11]
4. In finance, into a position that expects prices to rise.^[14]

Noun

1. A long time: She'll be back before long.^[14][3]
2. A long syllable or vowel.^[14]
3. In finance, one who buys securities or commodities expecting their price to rise.^[14]
4. longs: trousers reaching the ankles; also a clothing size for tall people.^[14]

Word family

• longness
• longish
• longly
• longer
• long since
• longboat
• longbow
• longhand

long² to yearn

Etymology

The verb is inherited from Middle English longen,^[4][2] inherited from Old English langian (“to grow long; to yearn after”),^[4][6][8] from Proto-Germanic *langōną,^[4][16] which was formed from the Germanic adjective that gave long¹.^[4][6][7] Its cognates are Old Saxon langōn (“to long”), Middle Dutch langhen, Old High German langēn, Old Norse langa and German verlangen (“to desire”).^[4][2][8] The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, however, treats the verb and the adjective as unrelated.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English langian is recorded about 875.^[2] It meant "to grow long, lengthen" and, used impersonally (me longs), "to have a yearning desire".^[11][6]

Semantic evolution

Ayto explains the sense "yearn" as coming from "seem long".^[7] Barnhart points to the impersonal expressions of Old High German and Middle Dutch, with a basic sense "it is taking too long for me", from which "I am longing" follows,^[2] and Weekley to the impersonal use and the French il me tarde, "I long", literally "it is slow to me".^[9] The impersonal construction died out in the 16th century, as did the sense "to grow longer".^[11] The personal use with for or an infinitive is recorded from about 1225.^[11] In East Anglian dialect long also meant "to hand or pass (a thing)", recorded from 1673 to 1825.^[11][13]

Timeline

• c. 875 – Old English langian, to grow long; impersonally, to yearn.^[2][11]
• before 1200 – Middle English longen, in Layamon's Brut.^[2]
• c. 1225 – personal use, to long for something or to do something.^[11]
• before 1250 – the noun longing.^[2]
• 1673 – East Anglian, to hand or pass a thing.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To have a strong, earnest desire, especially for something out of reach; to yearn: She longed for the sea.^[14][3]

Word family

• longing
• longingly

long³ because of; to belong

Etymology

The word in the phrase “long of” (also “long on”), "because of, owing to", is inherited from Middle English long,^[17][11] an aphetic form from Middle English along.^[11][10][3] The MED instead derives it directly from Old English gelang,^[17] and so did Skeat.^[18] The archaic verb long, to belong, is formed from it,^[10][11] and was later taken as a shortening of belong.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Attributable to, dependent on: about 1175, in the Ormulum.^[11][17]

Semantic evolution

After Middle English it was used only in the phrase long of, owing to.^[11][10] Chaucer used it twice and Gower once.^[19] In the 19th century long of (lang o') was still dialect in Cumberland, Westmorland, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Norfolk.^[13] The verb, to belong to or be the property of, is recorded from late Old English, and in the sense "to be fitting" from about 1350 to 1868.^[11] The Shorter Oxford labels both the adjective and the verb archaic and dialect.^[10]

Timeline

• late Old English – verb, to belong to, be the property of.^[11]
• c. 1175 – long on, attributable to, in the Ormulum.^[11][17]
• c. 1350 – verb, to be fitting or suitable.^[11]
• 1895 – last OED record of long of.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. long of (archaic or dialect): owing to, on account of, because of: It was all long of him that we lost the cart.^[10][13][17]

Verb

1. (archaic) To belong or pertain (to); to be fitting or suitable.^[3][10][11]