up

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English up (“upward”) and uppe (“on high”),^[2][3] inherited from Old English upp (“upward”), used of motion, and uppe (“on high, aloft”), used of position,^[4][5][3] from Proto-Germanic *upp.^[6][5] It is cognate with Old Frisian up, Old Saxon up, Dutch op, Old High German ūf, German auf, Old Norse upp and Gothic 𐌹𐌿𐍀 (iup, “upward”).^[5][6][7][8] Barnhart traces it to an extended form of Proto-Indo-European *upo (“under, from under, over”),^[5][6] which also gave Latin sub (“under”) and Ancient Greek ὑπό (hypó, “under”),^[5][3] and English over.^[5][9] Hoad thinks the use for complete consumption was probably taken from Norse, comparing drekka upp (“to drink up”).^[4] The preposition, adjective, noun and verb are all formed from the adverb.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To or towards a higher place: Old English, first in Alfred's translation of Boethius;^[10] Barnhart dates upp to about 725, in Beowulf, and uppe to before 899.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Already in Old English up was used for rising above the horizon, coming to the surface and pulling out of the ground.^[10] Etymonline dates the preposition, "to a higher place", to about 1200,^[6] Barnhart and Merriam-Webster to 1509.^[5][3] Hoad explains it as a new preposition made by leaving out against, along and similar words after the adverb.^[4] The adjective first meant "dwelling inland" (about 1300), then "out of bed" (late 14th century); "excited" dates from 1815 and "enthusiastic, optimistic" from 1942.^[6][5] In baseball, up meant "at bat" by 1896.^[6] The noun dates from 1536, ups and downs from 1844.^[5][6][3] The verb was first used of driving and catching swans in the 1550s; "to get up and do something suddenly", as in up and leave, is from the 1640s, and "to increase", of prices, from 1915.^[6][3] Johnson (1755) defined the adverb first as "aloft; on high; not down".^[11]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English upp, upward.^[5]
• before 899 – Old English uppe, on high.^[5]
• c. 1200 – preposition, to a higher place.^[6] Barnhart and Merriam-Webster date it to 1509.^[5][3]
• c. 1300 – adjective, dwelling inland.^[6][5]
• late 14th century – adjective, out of bed.^[6]
• 1536 – noun, that which is up.^[5][3]
• 1550s – verb, to drive and catch swans.^[6]
• 1643 – verb, to act suddenly, as in up and leave.^[3][6]
• 1815 – adjective, excited, happy.^[6][5]
• 1844 – ups and downs.^[6]
• 1915 – verb, to increase.^[6]

Meanings

Adverb

1. In or to a higher position: She looked up at the plane.^[12][8][10]
2. Into an upright position, or out of bed: Stand up, please.^[12][8]
3. Above the horizon or the surface: The sun came up.^[12][10]
4. To a higher price, level or intensity: Turn the volume up.^[12]
5. Completely, so as to finish: Eat up your soup.^[8][4]

Preposition

1. From a lower to a higher point on: climbing up the ladder.^[12][8]
2. Further along; towards the source of: a café up the street, sailing up the river.^[12][8]

Adjective

1. Higher than before; raised: Prices are up again.^[12]
2. Out of bed: Are the children up yet?^[12]
3. Cheerful or excited; upbeat.^[12][6]
4. Happening; going on: What's up?^[12]
5. Finished, over: Time is up.^[12]
6. In baseball, at bat.^[6][3]

Noun

1. An upward slope or movement; in ups and downs, good times beside bad.^[12][3]
2. A feeling of excitement or euphoria.^[12][6]

Verb

1. To increase or raise: They upped the price.^[12][6]
2. To get up, or to do something suddenly, followed by and: She upped and left.^[12][3]

Word family

• upside
• upside down

Related words

• give up
• pick up
• put up
• ring up
• send up
• take up
• throw up
• ups and downs
• over
• upper
• open
• hyper-
• sub-
• super-

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin