tomorrow

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /təˈmɒr.əʊ/, US /təˈmɑːr.oʊ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English to morwe, earlier to morwen,^[2][3][4] inherited from Old English tō morgenne (“on the morrow”),^[5][2][6] from Old English tō (“at, on”) + morgenne (“in the morning”), the dative of morgen (“morning”).^[5][2][6] It is formed like today and tonight,^[7][8] and morgen also gave morn, morrow and morning.^[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English tō morgenne is from about 897;^[2] Middle English to morwe, “on the day after today”, is from about 1250^[2] or the mid-13th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The form tomorn also survived in Middle English and, according to the OED, in the vernacular of northern England.^[5][3] The noun, “the day after today”, is from the late 14th century, about 1390 in Chaucer.^[5][2] “The near future” is attested by 1871 as an adverb^[9] and by 1898 as a noun.^[5] The word was written as two words until the 16th century, and as to-morrow until the early 20th century.^[5][2] Tomorrow is a new day is from the early 16th century, and tomorrow never comes was foreshadowed in 1523 by Lord Berners.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 897 – Old English tō morgenne.^[2]
• c. 1250 – Middle English to morwe.^[2]
• c. 1390 – noun, the next day.^[2]
• 16th century – written to-morrow.^[5]
• 1871 – in the near future.^[9]
• early 20th century – written tomorrow.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adverb

1. On or during the day after today.
2. In the future.

Noun

1. The day after today.
2. The near future: the world of tomorrow.

Related words

• morrow
• morn
• morning
• today
• tonight

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press