源etymfun
About

Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

always

/ˈɔːl.weɪz/
At all times; throughout all time; since the beginning.

    Etymology graph

    • inherited
    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
    React Flow
    Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
    Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.

    Click a node to zoom in · double-click to open it

    Origin

    From Middle English alweyes, alwayes, alweys, a variant of Middle English alwey, alway (“always”), from Old English ealneġ, ealne weġ (“always, perpetually”, literally “all the way, all the while, continuously”), from ealne + weġ (accusative case), equivalent to alway + -s. Cognate with Scots always (“always”), Low German allerwegens (“very often”, literally “all ways'”). More at all, way.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishalweyes
      • partMiddle Englishalwey
        • inheritedOld Englishealneġ
          • partOld Englisheall
            • inheritedProto-West Germanic*all “all”
              • inheritedProto-Germanic*allaz “all; entire, whole”
              • derivedProto-Germanic*allaz “all; entire, whole”
            • derivedProto-West Germanic*all “all”
          • partOld Englishweġ “way, road”
            • inheritedProto-West Germanic*weg
              • inheritedProto-Germanic*wegaz
      • partMiddle English-es “adverbial ending”
        • inheritedOld English-es “-'s”
          • inheritedProto-West Germanic*-as
          • inheritedOld English-eþ
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*-as
        • inheritedOld English-as
        • inheritedOld English-es, -as
        • derivedOld English-es “-'s”
    • surface analysisEnglishalway
    • surface analysisEnglish-s “Used to form regular plurals of nouns.”

    Related: Scots always, Low German allerwegens

    Meanings

    adv
    1. At all times; throughout all time; since the beginning.
    2. Constantly during a certain period, or regularly at stated intervals (opposed to sometimes or occasionally).
    3. if necessary, or if there is no better option; in any event.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: always