although English · revision 3637

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1325}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ɔːlˈðəʊ/, US /ɔːlˈðoʊ/, /ɑːlˈðoʊ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound, [[af|en|all|though]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) at first written separately, [[m|enm|al thagh]],^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline) with ''all'' in its once common emphatic use.^(Etymonline) Hoad compares the same use of ''all'' in [[albeit]].^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Admitting that, in spite of the fact that: about 1325, in the form ''althagh''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED explains that ''all though'' was at first more emphatic than plain ''though'', but that by 1400 it was little more than a variant, and so came to be written as one word;^(Etymonline) Barnhart adds that the stress on the first syllable was lost in the 14th century.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline notes that the choice between ''although'' and ''though'' is often a matter of metre.^(Etymonline) The informal spelling ''altho''' is also found.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1325 – ''althagh''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – a mere variant of ''though''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # In spite of the fact that; [[even though]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # But, and yet: ''it's cheap, although not very good''.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[though]]

+ * [[all]]

+ * [[albeit]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary notes that ''although'' and ''though'' are usually interchangeable, but that ''although'' usually begins its clause, while ''though'' can come elsewhere and is more common in linking words or phrases, as in ''wiser though poorer''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}