almost English · revision 2312
15 Oct 2026, 05:13 by bogdan “New entries: south … history (en10k b0021)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=before 1000 (Old English ealmǣst)}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: UK /ˈɔːl.məʊst/, US /ˈɔːl.moʊst/, /ˈɑːl.moʊst/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|almest]], [[inh|ang|ealmǣst|t=nearly all, for the most part]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) a compound, [[af|ang|eall|mǣst|t1=all|t2=most]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000)^(MW Collegiate) literally “mostly all”.^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) The form ''almest'' turned into ''almost'' between 1123 and 1250, but the spelling ''almost'' did not prevail until the 15th century.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Nearly all, for the most part: Old English ''ealmǣst'', before 1000.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The original sense died out in the mid-17th century^(SOED 2002) and is now expressed by ''almost all''.^(Etymonline) The sense “very nearly, all but” is from about 1200.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) With a negative, ''almost no'' meaning “scarcely any” is from 1523,^(OED 1989) and ''almost'' was used before a noun from 1552.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * before 1000 – Old English ''ealmǣst'', for the most part.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * c. 1200 – very nearly.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1523 – ''almost no'', scarcely any.^(OED 1989)
+ * 15th century – the spelling ''almost'' prevails.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+ * mid-17th century – the sense “mostly” dies out.^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adverb===
+ # Slightly short of; not quite; [[nearly]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[almost everywhere]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[all]]
+ * [[most]]
+ * [[also]]
+ * [[alone]]
+ * [[nearly]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ RHWU compares ''almost'', “very little short of”, with ''nearly'', which suggests a slightly greater distance, and the literary ''well-nigh'', “by a barely noticeable amount”; it also calls ''most'' in this sense colloquial.^(RHWU)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}