together

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /təˈɡeð.ə/, US /təˈɡeð.ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English togedere, inherited from Old English tōgædere,^[2][3] a compound, from Old English tō (“to”) + gædere (“together”),^[2][4][5] the second part apparently a variant of geador (“together”),^[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *gaduri- (“in a body”),^[2] from Proto-Indo-European *ghedh- (“to unite, join, fit”).^[2][6] It is related to gather and to Old English gæd (“fellowship”).^[7][8][3] Its cognates include Old Frisian togadera, Middle Dutch tegadere, Middle Low German tōgadere and Middle High German gater (“together”).^[8][3][9] The d became th in late Middle English, as in father.^[3][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Into one place or company, in a group or mass: Old English tōgædere, first recorded in 707.^[3][2][7]

Semantic evolution

Of single things, “so as to be joined or unified” is from about 1300.^[2] The word was also used without real meaning to translate Latin con-, as in Wycliffe's “þei sholn beten togidere þeir swordis in to shares” (Latin conflabunt).^[2] A form with adverbial genitive, togethers, lasted through the 16th century.^[2] The sense “in agreement, in harmony” dates from 1502,^[11] and “taken all together” from 1849.^[11] The adjective “self-assured, free of emotional problems” is American slang, dated 1963 by Merriam-Webster^[4][9] and 1966 by Barnhart and Etymonline.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 707 – Old English tōgædere.^[3]
• before 1160 – togedere (Peterborough Chronicle).^[3]
• c. 1300 – of single things, joined into one.^[2]
• 1502 – in agreement.^[11]
• 16th century – togethers last used.^[2]
• 1849 – taken all together.^[11]
• 1963 – adjective, self-assured.^[4]
• 1966 – adjective (Barnhart, Etymonline).^[3][2]

Modern meaning

Adverb

1. Into or in one group, mass or place.
2. Into contact or union: glue the pieces together.
3. With one another; by joint effort.
4. Taken as a whole; in total.
5. At the same time; simultaneously.
6. In harmony or agreement.

Adjective

1. (slang) Emotionally stable and capable; well organized.

Word family

• togetherness
• untogether

Related words

• gather
• altogether
• good

Usage notes

The AHD notes that together with does not change the number of the verb, which agrees with the subject: the king, together with two aides, is expected.^[12]

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 g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2008), 11th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
11. ^ a b c d 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. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin