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DictionaryRoot: eall
Old English

eall

all, whole

Forms

  • eall
  • all — Later English form.
  • al- — Shortened spelling retained in some compounds.

Origin

Proto-Germanic *allaz, ‘all’; its deeper ancestry is uncertain.

Note

Can gather separate things into a total or describe one thing in its entirety.

7 / 8
A devoted caretaker sits beside a sleeping dog with a filled food bowl, fresh water, a leash, and carefully maintained bedding, showing dependable care on every occasion.
adverb

always

AWL-wayz/ˈɔːlweɪz/

At every relevant time or occasion.

Etymology
alOld Englishall, whole
+wayOld Englishway, road, path
+sEnglishin a particular way or direction

The pieces literally express “all the way,” but the phrase’s earliest recorded uses already concern time. A whole stretch of distance thus supplies the image for all the time or every occasion.

Full entry

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