Nearby Words

already

[awl-red-ee] Example Sentences Origin

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; Middle English 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”)


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. 2012.
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Already is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
Example Sentences
  • The band has already found an audience.
  • Of course, all-wheel drive adds about $1500 to an already marginal price.
  • So the internet's already starting to look different.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
already (ɔːlˈrɛdɪ)
 
adv
1.  by or before a stated or implied time: he is already here
2.  at a time earlier than expected: is it ten o'clock already?

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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