English
again
Again comes from Old English onġēan ‘against, again’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *in gagin.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*in gaginreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150onġēan‘against’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500agayn
- Englishearliest quotation 1485again
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*in gaginreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame formreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150onġēan‘against’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500agayn
- Englishearliest quotation 1485again
Earliest quotation: 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: “And here begynneth the treson of Kynge Marke that…”
A compound of *in ‘in’ + *gagin ‘towards, in the direction of’
Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’
Proto-Germanic *in ‘in’
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to walk’
Proto-Germanic *ganganą ‘to go, walk, step’
Proto-Germanic *gagin ‘towards, in the direction of’
Linked words
through Middle English agayn
Today it means
adv Another time: indicating a repeat of an action.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *in gagin / again