already English · revision 1812

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1300}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɔːlˈred.i/ ''(UK)''; /ɔːlˈred.i/, /ɑːlˈred.i/ ''(US)''^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from the Middle English phrase [[m|enm|al redy]] “fully ready, prepared”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024) formed [[af|enm|al|redy|t1=all, fully|t2=ready]],^(SOED 2002)^(AHD) that is, [[all]] used as an adverb and [[ready]].^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) Compare [[no|allerede]] and [[da|allerede]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Fully prepared, quite ready, as an adjective (about 1300).^(Barnhart 1995)^(HTOED)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Random House explains the change: in a sentence like ''the porter all ready was there'', the phrase first described the subject but was then taken as an adverb of time, “from an earlier time”.^(RHWU) The adverb is recorded from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the adjective sense died out in the 16th century.^(HTOED)^(SOED 2002) Barnhart notes that ''all ready'' continued as a separate two-word phrase, written as one word only sporadically since the 1450s; the parallel ''all right'' never became a single word.^(Barnhart 1988) In American English, ''already'' at the end of a sentence to express impatience (''enough already!'') is recorded from 1903 and translates Yiddish ''shoyn'';^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(COED 2004) in South African English a similar redundant ''already'' comes from Afrikaans ''al''.^(DSAE)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – ''al redy'', fully ready.^(Barnhart 1995)^(HTOED)

+ * late 14th century – adverb, by this time, previously.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1555 – last record of the adjective sense.^(HTOED)

+ * 1891 – redundant ''already'' in South African English.^(DSAE)^(HTOED)

+ * 1903 – ''already'' as an intensive in American English.^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Before the time in question; by now or by then: ''they were already asleep''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # So soon, sooner than expected: ''is it ten o'clock already?''^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(North American informal)'' Used to express impatience: ''enough already''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # ''(South African)'' Used redundantly for emphasis.^(DSAE)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[all]]

+ * [[ready]]

+ * [[all right]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Already'' means “by this time”, while the phrase ''all ready'' means “entirely prepared” (''we were all ready to leave'').^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}