Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Already in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels already as adverb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adverb
Already

[All (OE. al) + ready.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordalready
Part of speechadverb
Historical etymology[All (OE. al) + ready.]
Selected historical definitionPrior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously.
Signed record IDwebster1913-already-adverb-3dffa589ab07
Source locatorCIDE.A, paragraph 6285; Gutenberg eBook 660
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 660Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "already" is labeled adverb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[All (OE. al) + ready.]" The selected historical definition says: "Prior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-09-05

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released A records

Every card owns a different source record and historical sense.

adverb

Always

[All + way. The s is an adverbial (orig. a genitive) ending.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

American

[Named from Americus Vespucius.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Area

[L. area a broad piece of level ground. Cf. Are, n.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Action

[OF. action, L. actio, fr. agere to do. See Act.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Account

[OE. acount, account, accompt, OF. acont, fr. aconter. See Account, v. t., Count, n., 1.]

Webster 1913 exact record

Browse released A records - browse all historical records.