again

[prettygoodword]

again (uh-GEN, uh-GAIN) - adv., once more, another time, in addition; back (to a former state or place).


This is an old one, going back to Old English forms āġēan/onġēan/onġeġn, with the range of senses of towards/against/opposite to/contrary to/against/in exchange for/opposite/back/again/anew/also, compounded from on-, on + -gegn against/toward -- a sense that has sort of survived in the construction "but then again $contrary". (At the time, the sense of "another time" was carried by eft, as in eftsoons.)

---L.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

When I was little, I found it endlessly fascinating and confusing that "again" and "against" (again-most) are so similar. In modern German the latter sense is matched by something like the former ...form: "entgegen." (There's also "entlang" to match "along.") And yes, in Middle English one may ride against the castle, whereas now I think one may not ride against more than the wind....

[prettygoodword]

I confused again and against a lot, younger. Though not as much as whether and weather, to the point that for a few years I thought they were one word spelled wheather. The discovery of wether blew my brain a little.

[thistleingrey]

heh *rings bells*