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Again

 - 4 dictionary results

a⋅gain

  [uh-gen, uh-geyn]
Use Again in a Sentence
–adverb
1. once more; another time; anew; in addition: Will you spell your name again, please?
2. in an additional case or instance; moreover; besides; furthermore.
3. on the other hand: It might happen, and again it might not.
4. back; in return; in reply: to answer again.
5. to the same place or person: to return again.
—Idioms
6. again and again, with frequent repetition; often: They went over the same arguments again and again.
7. as much again, twice as much: She earns as much again as I do.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME agayn, ageyn, OE ongegn opposite (to) = on on, in (see a- 1 ) + gegn straight; c. OHG ingagan, ON igegn

Pronunciation note:
By far the most common pronunciation of again, in all parts of the United States, is [uh-gen] , with the same vowel heard in yet and pep. The pronunciation [uh-geyn], rhyming with pain, occurs chiefly in the Atlantic states. Again said as [uh-gin], with the vowel of pit or sip, or with a vowel somewhere between [e] and [i], is the common pronunciation in much of the South, where [e] and [i] tend to become neutralized, or more like one another, before [m] and [n], leading to a lack of noticeable distinction between such pairs as pen and pin, ten and tin.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Again
a·gain   (ə-gěn')   
adv.  

  1. Once more; anew: Try again.

  2. To a previous place, position, or state: left home but went back again.

  3. Furthermore; moreover: Again, we need to collect more data.

  4. On the other hand: She might go, and again she might not.

  5. In return; in response: paid him again.


[Middle English (influenced by Old Norse i gegn, again), from Old English ongeagn, against.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

again 
O.E. ongean "toward, opposite, against," from on "on" + -gegn "against, toward," for a sense of "lined up facing, opposite," and "in the opposite direction, returning." For -gegn, cf. O.N. gegn "straight, direct," Dan. igen "against," O.Fris. jen, O.H.G. gegin, Ger. gegen "against, toward," Ger. entgegen "against, in opposition to." In O.E., eft was the main word for "again," but this often was strengthened by ongean, which became the principal word by 13c. Norse influence is responsible for the hard -g-. Differentiated from against 16c. in southern writers, again becoming an adverb only, and against took over as prep. and conjunction, but again clung to all senses in northern and Scottish dialect.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

again

In addition to the idiom beginning with again, also see come again; do something over again; ever and again; every now and again; here someone goes again; now and again; off and on (off again, on again); over again; something else again; time and time again; you can say that again.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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