oftentimes

Etymology

It is formed from Middle English often + tīmes, the plural of time,^[2][3] after the older ofttimes.^[2][4][5] Merriam-Webster takes it as an alteration of ofttime and ofttimes,^[6] and Etymonline describes the final -s as the adverbial genitive -s.^[7] The Middle English Dictionary sees it as modelled on ofte-sīthes (“many times”),^[3] which continues Old English oft-sīþas, the plural of oft-sīþ.^[3][7] Middle English also had often-tide, from the mid-14th century.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Many times, frequently: before 1393, in Gower's Confessio Amantis ("Often times of scarsnesse It hath be sen that for the lesse Is lost the more").^[2][3] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century as two words and the early 15th century as one.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has not changed: the word has always been a fuller synonym of often.^[2][5] Chaucer used it in the Wife of Bath's Prologue (about 1395), "So often tymes I to my gossyb wente".^[3] In Middle English it was written as one word or as two indifferently; since the 16th century it has usually been one word.^[2] For a short time it was even compared, as oftener times and oftenest times (1562–1607).^[2] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as "frequently; many times; often", and inferred from its form that oft had once been an adjective with often as its plural.^[8] It is now archaic or literary except in the United States.^[5]

Timeline

• mid-14th century – the older forms oft-times and often-tide.^[7]
• before 1393 – many times, frequently, in Gower.^[2][3]
• 1562 – the comparative oftener times (obsolete by 1607).^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Often; many times, frequently: Oftentimes the bus was late in winter.^[9][6][2]

Related words

• often
• oft
• ofttimes
• time

Usage notes

Outside the United States the word is now archaic or literary.^[5] American Heritage lists ofttimes as a variant.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt