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already - 4 dictionary results
al⋅read⋅y
[awl-red-ee] 
–adverb
| 1. | by this or that time; previously; prior to or at some specified or implied time: When we came in, we found they had already arrived. |
| 2. | now; so soon; so early: Is it noon already? |
| 3. | Informal. (used as an intensifier to express exasperation or impatience): Let's go already! |
Origin:
1350–1400; ME al redy all ready; what orig. meant “completely ( all ) ready” and modified the subject (The porter all ready was there) was taken adverbially as modifying the predicate (The porter already was there, meaning “from an earlier time”)
1350–1400; ME al redy all ready; what orig. meant “completely ( all ) ready” and modified the subject (The porter all ready was there) was taken adverbially as modifying the predicate (The porter already was there, meaning “from an earlier time”)
Usage note:
Although already and all ready are often indistinguishable in speech, the written forms have distinct meanings and uses. The phrase all ready means “entirely ready” or “prepared” (I was all ready to leave on vacation). Already means “previously” (The plane had already left the airport) or “so soon” (Is it lunchtime already?).
Although already and all ready are often indistinguishable in speech, the written forms have distinct meanings and uses. The phrase all ready means “entirely ready” or “prepared” (I was all ready to leave on vacation). Already means “previously” (The plane had already left the airport) or “so soon” (Is it lunchtime already?).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To already
| al·read·y (ôl-rěd'ē) adv.
[Middle English alredi : al, all; see all + redi, ready; see ready.] |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Already
Al*read"y\, adv. [All (OE. al) + ready.] Prior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously. "Joseph was in Egypt already." --Exod. i. 5. I say unto you, that Elias is come already. --Matt. xvii. 12. Note: It has reference to past time, but may be used for a future past; as, when you shall arrive, the business will be already completed, or will have been already completed.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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already
c.1300, compound of all + ready. Colloquial use in U.S. as a terminal emphatic (e.g. enough, already!) is attested from 1903, translating Yiddish shoyn, which is used in same sense. The pattern also is attested in Pennsylvania German and in S.African.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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