already
/ɔːlˈɹɛdi/ adverb
- adverb Prior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously. “I was surprised that she hadn’t already told me the news.”
- adverb So soon. “Are you quitting already?”
- adverb (US, Canada) An intensifier used to emphasize impatience or express exasperation. “I wish they'd finish already, so we can get going.”
- adverb (Singapore, Singlish) Indicates the completion of an action (whether past or hypothetical), or more generally, perfective aspect. “You frame the picture for me already anot?”
- adverb (Singapore, Singlish) Marks a change in state, more or less in the same manner as the inchoative aspect. “I don’t think he can take it already.”
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English alredy (“fully; already”), equivalent to al- (“all, completely”) + ready. Cognate with West Frisian alreeds (“already”), Dutch alreeds (“already”), Afrikaans alreeds (“already”), Middle Low German alreide, alreids ("already"; whence modern German Low German alreeds (“already”)), Danish allerede (“already”), Swedish allaredan (“already”), Norwegian Nynorsk allereie (“already”). More at all, ready.
The use as an intensifier in American English is a semantic loan from Yiddish שוין (shoyn), attested from 1903.
In Singapore English, the use of already as a marker of action completion and change of state is analogous to Hokkien 了 (liáu), Teochew 了 (liao²) and Mandarin 了 (le). Compare Malay (su)dah and Cantonese 咗 (zo²), 喇 (laa³).
Webster’s 1913
- adverb Prior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously. "Joseph was in Egypt already." Exod. i. 5.
Etymology [All (OE. al) + ready.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “already”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details