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Always

 - 3 dictionary results

al⋅ways

[awl-weyz, -weez]
–adverb
1. every time; on every occasion; without exception: He always works on Saturday.
2. all the time; continuously; uninterruptedly: There is always some pollution in the air.
3. forever: Will you always love me?
4. in any event; at any time; if necessary: She can always move back with her parents.

Origin:
1200–50; ME alwayes, alleweyes, alles weis, gen. (denoting distribution; cf. once ) of all wei; alle- lost its gen. ending and was treated as a compounding element under influence of alle wey alway. See all, way, alway, -s 1


1. regularly, invariably, consistently. 2, 3. perpetually, everlastingly, continuously. Both always and ever refer to uniform or perpetual continuance. Always often expresses or implies repetition as producing the uniformity or continuance: The sun always rises in the east. Ever implies an unchanging sameness throughout: Natural law is ever to be reckoned with.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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al·ways   (ôl'wāz, -wĭz, -wēz)   
adv.  
  1. At all times; invariably: always late.

  2. For all time; forever: They will always be friends.

  3. At any time; in any event: You can always resign if you're unhappy.


[Middle English alweis : alwei, always (from Old English ealne weg : ealne, accusative of eall, all; see all + weg, way; see wegh- in Indo-European roots) + -es, adv. suff.; see -s3.]
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

always 
c.1350, compound of O.E. phrase ealne weg "always, quite, perpetually," lit. "all the way," with accusative of space or distance, though the oldest recorded usages refer to time. The adverbial genitive -s appeared c.1230 and is now the standard, though the variant alway survived into 1800s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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