almostadv.adj.n.

Brit.

/ˈɔːlməʊst/, U.S.

/ɔlˈmoʊst/,

/ˈɔlmoʊst/,

/ɑlˈmoʊst/,

/ˈɑlmoʊst/

Forms: (Word division in Old English and Middle English examples frequently reflects editorial choices of modern editors of texts, rather than the practice of the manuscripts.)

α. Old English eallmæst, Old English ealmæst, late Old English ælmæst, late Old English eallmeast, early Middle English alle mast, early Middle English allmasst ( Ormulum), early Middle English all mast, early Middle English al meast, Middle English allemost, Middle English allemoste, Middle English almast, Middle English almaste, Middle English almest, Middle English almeste, Middle English almuste, Middle English–1500s almoost, Middle English–1600s all most, Middle English–1600s allmoste, Middle English–1600s all moste, Middle English–1600s almoste, Middle English–1700s allmost, Middle English– almost, 1500s allmoost, 1600s all-most; Scottish pre-1700 all maist, pre-1700 allmast, pre-1700 al mast, pre-1700 almeist, pre-1700 almest, pre-1700 almoist, pre-1700 1700s almaist, pre-1700 1700s– almost.

β. 1500s ammost, 1600s– a'most (now regional); English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s omaist, 1800s–1900s amaist, 1800s–1900s ommost, 1900s onmawst; Irish English (northern) 1900s– amaist, 1900s– amost; also Scottish pre-1700 amast, pre-1700 1700s– amaist, pre-1700 1900s– amest (Shetland), 1800s ameaste, 1900s– aamaist (southern), 1900s– a'maist, 2000s– awmaist.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: all adv., most adv.

Etymology: < all adv. + most adv. Compare Middle Dutch almeest.In early use in sense A. 1 the reverse order of the two elements is also found; compare variant reading in quot. OE² at sense A. 1 and see most adv. 3a. In early use in this sense the first element probably partly shows all adj.; compare the discussion at all adj., pron., n., adv., and conj. on the potential difficulty of distinguishing adjectival and adverbial uses of the word. N.E.D. (1884) also gives the pronunciation (ǭ·lməst) /ˈɔːlməst/, and notes: ‘when emphatic or used in reply to a question, (ǭ·lmō^u·st) /ˈɔːlˈmoʊst/’.

A. adv.

†1. Mostly all, nearly all; for the most part. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adverb] > for or in the most part

mosteOE

almostOE

mostwhata1200

generally1340

chiefly138.

mostc1390

chiefa1556

mostly1563

substantially1638

prevalently1709

feckly1768

mostlings1808

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [adverb] > for the most part

nigheOE

almostOE

three-quarters1677

e'enamost1735

about1769

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxxi. 271 Hit is eal mæst mid haligra manna naman geset.

OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1065 Þa hit eall wæs gearo, þa for Cradoc to..& þæt folc eall mæst [OE Tiber. B.i mæst eall] ofsloh þe þær timbrode.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1131 Wæs se king Heanri on Roueceastre, & se burch forbernde ælmæst.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9617 Þatt Issraæle þeod all mast. Þa shollde beon forrworrpenn.

a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Digby) cliii, in Anglia (1878) 1 26 (MED) We..leggeð almest [v.rr. al, mast al] ure iswinch on þinge vnstedeueste.

1415 in F. W. Weaver Somerset Medieval Wills (1901) 402 (MED) Thys twey lynes I wrete almeste with my owne honde.

?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) l. 802 in Shorter Poems (2003) 56 Thair instrumentis all maist wer fydlys lang.

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 54 Thies giuers were almost Northenmen.

1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Mouffet Theater of Insects in E. Topsell Hist. Four-footed Beasts 1093 The women..do that work almost.

1792 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 812/1 The Encyclopédie..are almost written and copied by men who make it their business to write on arts they have never practised.

a. Very nearly but not quite; well-nigh; all but.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [adverb] > almost or nearly

nigheOE

well-nigheOE

forneanc1000

well-nearc1175

almostc1261

nighwhatc1300

nearhandc1350

nigh handa1375

nigh handsa1375

as good asc1390

into (right) littlea1413

unto litea1420

nigh byc1430

nearbyc1485

near handsa1500

as near as1517

mosta1538

next door1542

wellmost1548

all but1590

anewst1590

uneath1590

next to1611

nearlya1616

thereaboutsa1616

welly1615

thereabout1664

within (an) ames-ace ofa1670

anear1675

pretty much1682

three parts1711

newsta1728

only not1779

partly1781

in all but name1824

just about1836

nentes1854

near1855

nar1859

just1860

not-quite1870

nearabouta1878

effectively1884

nigh on1887

the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > [adverb] > nearly (of amount)

well-nigheOE

nighOE

well-nearc1175

almostc1261

nighwhatc1300

nara1400

neara1400

anighsta1425

muchwhata1513

wellmost1548

most1629

nighly1694

nearly1769

partly1781

mostly1805

most1808

mostlings1816

about1827

nearabouts1834

fairly1840

welly1859

approaching1951

c1261 ( Bounds (Sawyer 1165) in S. E. Kelly Charters of Chertsey Abbey (2015) 108 Fram þe heþe forþ riste to hertleies ouerende almest.

c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) 9644 [He] his almest dead.

a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) cxviii. 87 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 254 Almaste in erthe þai me forname.

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 463 They were come almoost [v.rr. almost, almoste] to that Citee.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 77 The heete of hit is ioynede allemoste with heuyn.

1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xiii. sig. Giv^v I had all moste forgoten where I was.

1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 126^v The solution to the seconde reason is allmost as soundely handled.

1574 J. Baret Aluearie A 280 It is almost twelue a clocke. Duodecima instat.

1611 Bible (King James) Acts xxvi. 28 Almost thou perswadest mee to bee a Christian.

1639 J. Clarke Paroemiologia 3 Almost was never hang'd.

1663 J. Beale Let. 2 Nov. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) II. 154 Sir R P..had most horrid fits of hypochondriacall, & allmost epilepticall passions.

1703 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion II. vi. 134 The flame of this Common Combustion hath allmost devour'd Ireland.

1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 1 Jan. (1965) I. 291 Hunting horns..that allmost deafen the company.

1756 E. Burke Vindic. Nat. Society 5 Diet..confined almost wholly to the vegetable Kind.

1816 W. Scott Black Dwarf iv, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. I. 76 As sair vexed amaist for you as for me.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 597 He was almost within sight of their city.

1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 190 Mistakes..on almost every page.

1939 W. Fortescue There's Rosemary lvii. 316 Its long winged sleeves and veil were of an almost primrose-tinted chiffon.

1963 S. H. Skaife Naturalist Remembers 76 A big hairy brute with..a spread of legs that would almost cover the palm of the hand.

1985 InfoWorld 9 Sept. 41/2 Practice makes perfect. Well, almost.

2010 Daily Tel. 15 Jan. 38/1 Parts of this area..have an almost villagey feel to them.

b. With negative words, as never, no, none, nobody, nothing, etc., forming expressions equivalent to ‘scarcely ever’, ‘scarcely any’, ‘scarcely anybody’, ‘scarcely anything’, etc.Formerly often separated from the negative word, now only immediately preceding it.

ΚΠ

1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 131 (MED) Þer may no man passe by that syde of þe wey, ne by þat other syde nother, almost.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vi. l. 420 For sorow almaist a word he mycht nocht spek.

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccxv. 270 Bycause they were so great a company, almoost nothynge helde agaynst theym.

1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. John iii. f. 32 But no man almoste reciueth his witnes.

1641 Speeches & Passages Parl. 519 The Kirk of Scotland, which in his opinion..hath not in it almost any thing of a Kirk.

1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 335 So that the French King had neither any shore almost, nor any considerable use of Sea-affairs.

1668 S. Pepys Diary 30 Apr. (1976) IX. 180 My eyes, which are daily worse and worse, that I dare not write or read almost anything.

1698 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. IV. 10 That a thing that is so much every Body's Concern, should be almost no Body's Discourse.

1731 J. Wesley Let. 11 Jan. (1931) I. 85 Since our return our little company that used to meet us on a Sunday evening is shrunk into almost none at all.

1777 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip II II. xxiv. 394 His affairs almost never prospered where he was not present.

1838 J. Stewart Stable Econ. ii. 135 Some people give the horse no bedding, or almost none.

a1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets (1857) vi. 200 Of Shakspeare we know almost nothing.

1875 T. W. Higginson Young Folks' Hist. U.S. xxv. 252 There were almost no roads.

1907 ‘N. Blanchan’ Birds Every Child should Know viii. 113 Hatched in a bush, and almost never seen apart from one, this humble little bird [sc. field sparrow] might well be called the bush sparrow.

1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart i. v. 77 Eddie's disillusionment, his indignation knew almost no bounds: he disappeared, saying something about enlisting.

1983 J. Kosinski Being There iv. 45 Chance understood almost nothing of what they were saying.

2001 Guardian 10 Nov. (Weekend Suppl.) 68/2 So, even when we eat almost no fat, our blood may contain worrying levels.

†3. Used to intensify a rhetorical interrogative. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xxvi. f. 97 Who almoste trusteth his brother, whom he knoweth a dise player?

1615 W. Bedwell Arabian Trudgman in tr. Mohammedis Imposturæ sig. K4 In what page almost shal you not meet with some exoticke and strange terme?

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. iii. 43 Or do you almost thinke, although you see, That you do see?

1698 R. South 12 Serm. III. 155 For who almost can we see who opens his Arms to his Enemies?

1748 G. White Serm. in Jrnl. Sacred Lit. (1863) July 300 Who almost are there, who do not know these things?

1853 C. J. Vaughan Serm. Chapel Harrow School 2nd Ser. vi. 71 If man be condemned, who almost shall escape?

4. Mathematics. That is such with exceptions or deviations that are negligible or insignificant; almost everywhere adv. everywhere except in a set of measure zero.

ΚΠ

1908 A. W. Conway in Proc. Royal Irish Acad. 1907–9 (1909) A. 27 178 A body moves in an almost periodic orbit.

1913 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 88 187 The theorem that ∫f(x + t) g(t) dt exists as a function of x almost everywhere, when f and g are summable functions.

1926 Proc. London Math. Soc. 25 495 H. Bohr..has constructed the theory of almost periodic functions.

1950 P. R. Halmos Meas. Theory iv. 89 Motivated by Egoroff's theorem we introduce the concept of almost uniform convergence.

1968 P. A. P. Moran Introd. Probability Theory viii. 346 We say that X_n converges almost certainly to a random variable X..if the probability that the sequence {X_n} converges to X (in the usual sense) is unity.

1990 Proc. London Math. Soc. 60 68 The most effective way of reducing problems concerning finite primitive permutation groups to problems concerning almost simple groups and linear groups.

2002 S. G. Samko Hypersingular Integrals xi. 336 To show the almost everywhere convergence, we apply Theorem 2.

B. adj.

Premodifying a noun or noun phrase: close to being (the thing mentioned). Cf. nearly adj.

ΚΠ

1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters iii. vii. f. lxxix He could no thing now wyn by y^e dealeng but euyll opynion, & almost a dispayre of his amendement.

1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Almost nyght, serum lumen.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 114 You are almost come to parte almost a fray.

1663 J. Alleine Let. 28 Aug. in T. Alleine Life J. Alleine (1672) xv. 54 Let not an almost Christianity deceive you, or ignorance carry you blindfold to perdition.

1695 J. Collier Misc. upon Moral Subj. 182 The almost Omnipresence of an Advantage, is a Circumstance of Value.

1761 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 440/1 The almost impossibility of any but the manufacturers making a right judgement of the goodness of the commodity by its appearance.

1808 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) II. 108 I am a heretic requiring toleration, an almost Quaker.

1826 W. Scott Woodstock II. ix. 245 Your Majesty heard of his almost death-swoon of last night.

1883 R. Broughton Belinda II. iii. iii. 215 Involuntarily she slackens her speed a little, from the almost run with which she had begun her course.

1935 W. G. Hardy Father Abraham 242 Serving-women glided to his elbow in almost nudity and filled again the deep blue lotus blossom of his wine-glass.

1976 I. Murdoch Henry & Cato i. 55 There was a brightness now, an almost sunshine, against a darker sky.

2001 Vibe Feb. 132 Big up to the VIBE B-ball team here in New York for its recent almost victory of 19 to 21 over the Enyce B-ball team.

C. n.

Something that almost happens; an event, phenomenon, etc., which just fails to succeed or satisfy.

ΚΠ

1836 Mag. Nat. Hist. 9 159 Will his reverence take the trouble to demonstrate fully (I'll have no almosts) that the dipper walks at the bottom of the water?

1868 M. E. Braddon Run to Earth III. vii. 117 ‘Never mind how awkwardly the offer has been made, provided it is genuine.’..‘But I don't like “almosts”.’

1882 Art Amateur 6 122/2 It is an exhibition of ‘almosts’.

1930 Pop. Mech. July 117/1 (advt.) Starrett Tools take the abouts and the almosts out of measuring.

1989 Atlantic Oct. 109/3 Connally's story is a succession of almosts and might-have-beens.

2002 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 17 Feb. viii. 6/5 The conference record book took one hit and had two almosts in a four-day period.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	almost
释义	almostadv.adj.n. Brit. /ˈɔːlməʊst/, U.S. /ɔlˈmoʊst/, /ˈɔlmoʊst/, /ɑlˈmoʊst/, /ˈɑlmoʊst/ Forms: (Word division in Old English and Middle English examples frequently reflects editorial choices of modern editors of texts, rather than the practice of the manuscripts.) α. Old English eallmæst, Old English ealmæst, late Old English ælmæst, late Old English eallmeast, early Middle English alle mast, early Middle English allmasst ( Ormulum), early Middle English all mast, early Middle English al meast, Middle English allemost, Middle English allemoste, Middle English almast, Middle English almaste, Middle English almest, Middle English almeste, Middle English almuste, Middle English–1500s almoost, Middle English–1600s all most, Middle English–1600s allmoste, Middle English–1600s all moste, Middle English–1600s almoste, Middle English–1700s allmost, Middle English– almost, 1500s allmoost, 1600s all-most; Scottish pre-1700 all maist, pre-1700 allmast, pre-1700 al mast, pre-1700 almeist, pre-1700 almest, pre-1700 almoist, pre-1700 1700s almaist, pre-1700 1700s– almost. β. 1500s ammost, 1600s– a'most (now regional); English regional (chiefly northern) 1800s omaist, 1800s–1900s amaist, 1800s–1900s ommost, 1900s onmawst; Irish English (northern) 1900s– amaist, 1900s– amost; also Scottish pre-1700 amast, pre-1700 1700s– amaist, pre-1700 1900s– amest (Shetland), 1800s ameaste, 1900s– aamaist (southern), 1900s– a'maist, 2000s– awmaist. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: all adv., most adv. Etymology: < all adv. + most adv. Compare Middle Dutch almeest.In early use in sense A. 1 the reverse order of the two elements is also found; compare variant reading in quot. OE² at sense A. 1 and see most adv. 3a. In early use in this sense the first element probably partly shows all adj.; compare the discussion at all adj., pron., n., adv., and conj. on the potential difficulty of distinguishing adjectival and adverbial uses of the word. N.E.D. (1884) also gives the pronunciation (ǭ·lməst) /ˈɔːlməst/, and notes: ‘when emphatic or used in reply to a question, (ǭ·lmō^u·st) /ˈɔːlˈmoʊst/’. A. adv. †1. Mostly all, nearly all; for the most part. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adverb] > for or in the most part mosteOE almostOE mostwhata1200 generally1340 chiefly138. mostc1390 chiefa1556 mostly1563 substantially1638 prevalently1709 feckly1768 mostlings1808 the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [adverb] > for the most part nigheOE almostOE three-quarters1677 e'enamost1735 about1769 OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxxi. 271 Hit is eal mæst mid haligra manna naman geset. OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1065 Þa hit eall wæs gearo, þa for Cradoc to..& þæt folc eall mæst [OE Tiber. B.i mæst eall] ofsloh þe þær timbrode. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1131 Wæs se king Heanri on Roueceastre, & se burch forbernde ælmæst. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9617 Þatt Issraæle þeod all mast. Þa shollde beon forrworrpenn. a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Digby) cliii, in Anglia (1878) 1 26 (MED) We..leggeð almest [v.rr. al, mast al] ure iswinch on þinge vnstedeueste. 1415 in F. W. Weaver Somerset Medieval Wills (1901) 402 (MED) Thys twey lynes I wrete almeste with my owne honde. ?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) l. 802 in Shorter Poems (2003) 56 Thair instrumentis all maist wer fydlys lang. a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 54 Thies giuers were almost Northenmen. 1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Mouffet Theater of Insects in E. Topsell Hist. Four-footed Beasts 1093 The women..do that work almost. 1792 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 812/1 The Encyclopédie..are almost written and copied by men who make it their business to write on arts they have never practised. 2. a. Very nearly but not quite; well-nigh; all but. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [adverb] > almost or nearly nigheOE well-nigheOE forneanc1000 well-nearc1175 almostc1261 nighwhatc1300 nearhandc1350 nigh handa1375 nigh handsa1375 as good asc1390 into (right) littlea1413 unto litea1420 nigh byc1430 nearbyc1485 near handsa1500 as near as1517 mosta1538 next door1542 wellmost1548 all but1590 anewst1590 uneath1590 next to1611 nearlya1616 thereaboutsa1616 welly1615 thereabout1664 within (an) ames-ace ofa1670 anear1675 pretty much1682 three parts1711 newsta1728 only not1779 partly1781 in all but name1824 just about1836 nentes1854 near1855 nar1859 just1860 not-quite1870 nearabouta1878 effectively1884 nigh on1887 the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > [adverb] > nearly (of amount) well-nigheOE nighOE well-nearc1175 almostc1261 nighwhatc1300 nara1400 neara1400 anighsta1425 muchwhata1513 wellmost1548 most1629 nighly1694 nearly1769 partly1781 mostly1805 most1808 mostlings1816 about1827 nearabouts1834 fairly1840 welly1859 approaching1951 c1261 ( Bounds (Sawyer 1165) in S. E. Kelly Charters of Chertsey Abbey (2015) 108 Fram þe heþe forþ riste to hertleies ouerende almest. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) 9644 [He] his almest dead. a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) cxviii. 87 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 254 Almaste in erthe þai me forname. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 463 They were come almoost [v.rr. almost, almoste] to that Citee. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 77 The heete of hit is ioynede allemoste with heuyn. 1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xiii. sig. Giv^v I had all moste forgoten where I was. 1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 126^v The solution to the seconde reason is allmost as soundely handled. 1574 J. Baret Aluearie A 280 It is almost twelue a clocke. Duodecima instat. 1611 Bible (King James) Acts xxvi. 28 Almost thou perswadest mee to bee a Christian. View more context for this quotation 1639 J. Clarke Paroemiologia 3 Almost was never hang'd. 1663 J. Beale Let. 2 Nov. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) II. 154 Sir R P..had most horrid fits of hypochondriacall, & allmost epilepticall passions. 1703 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion II. vi. 134 The flame of this Common Combustion hath allmost devour'd Ireland. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 1 Jan. (1965) I. 291 Hunting horns..that allmost deafen the company. 1756 E. Burke Vindic. Nat. Society 5 Diet..confined almost wholly to the vegetable Kind. 1816 W. Scott Black Dwarf iv, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. I. 76 As sair vexed amaist for you as for me. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 597 He was almost within sight of their city. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 190 Mistakes..on almost every page. 1939 W. Fortescue There's Rosemary lvii. 316 Its long winged sleeves and veil were of an almost primrose-tinted chiffon. 1963 S. H. Skaife Naturalist Remembers 76 A big hairy brute with..a spread of legs that would almost cover the palm of the hand. 1985 InfoWorld 9 Sept. 41/2 Practice makes perfect. Well, almost. 2010 Daily Tel. 15 Jan. 38/1 Parts of this area..have an almost villagey feel to them. b. With negative words, as never, no, none, nobody, nothing, etc., forming expressions equivalent to ‘scarcely ever’, ‘scarcely any’, ‘scarcely anybody’, ‘scarcely anything’, etc.Formerly often separated from the negative word, now only immediately preceding it. ΚΠ 1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 131 (MED) Þer may no man passe by that syde of þe wey, ne by þat other syde nother, almost. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vi. l. 420 For sorow almaist a word he mycht nocht spek. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccxv. 270 Bycause they were so great a company, almoost nothynge helde agaynst theym. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. John iii. f. 32 But no man almoste reciueth his witnes. 1641 Speeches & Passages Parl. 519 The Kirk of Scotland, which in his opinion..hath not in it almost any thing of a Kirk. 1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 335 So that the French King had neither any shore almost, nor any considerable use of Sea-affairs. 1668 S. Pepys Diary 30 Apr. (1976) IX. 180 My eyes, which are daily worse and worse, that I dare not write or read almost anything. 1698 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. IV. 10 That a thing that is so much every Body's Concern, should be almost no Body's Discourse. 1731 J. Wesley Let. 11 Jan. (1931) I. 85 Since our return our little company that used to meet us on a Sunday evening is shrunk into almost none at all. 1777 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip II II. xxiv. 394 His affairs almost never prospered where he was not present. 1838 J. Stewart Stable Econ. ii. 135 Some people give the horse no bedding, or almost none. a1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets (1857) vi. 200 Of Shakspeare we know almost nothing. 1875 T. W. Higginson Young Folks' Hist. U.S. xxv. 252 There were almost no roads. 1907 ‘N. Blanchan’ Birds Every Child should Know viii. 113 Hatched in a bush, and almost never seen apart from one, this humble little bird [sc. field sparrow] might well be called the bush sparrow. 1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart i. v. 77 Eddie's disillusionment, his indignation knew almost no bounds: he disappeared, saying something about enlisting. 1983 J. Kosinski Being There iv. 45 Chance understood almost nothing of what they were saying. 2001 Guardian 10 Nov. (Weekend Suppl.) 68/2 So, even when we eat almost no fat, our blood may contain worrying levels. †3. Used to intensify a rhetorical interrogative. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xxvi. f. 97 Who almoste trusteth his brother, whom he knoweth a dise player? 1615 W. Bedwell Arabian Trudgman in tr. Mohammedis Imposturæ sig. K4 In what page almost shal you not meet with some exoticke and strange terme? a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. iii. 43 Or do you almost thinke, although you see, That you do see? View more context for this quotation 1698 R. South 12 Serm. III. 155 For who almost can we see who opens his Arms to his Enemies? 1748 G. White Serm. in Jrnl. Sacred Lit. (1863) July 300 Who almost are there, who do not know these things? 1853 C. J. Vaughan Serm. Chapel Harrow School 2nd Ser. vi. 71 If man be condemned, who almost shall escape? 4. Mathematics. That is such with exceptions or deviations that are negligible or insignificant; almost everywhere adv. everywhere except in a set of measure zero. ΚΠ 1908 A. W. Conway in Proc. Royal Irish Acad. 1907–9 (1909) A. 27 178 A body moves in an almost periodic orbit. 1913 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 88 187 The theorem that ∫f(x + t) g(t) dt exists as a function of x almost everywhere, when f and g are summable functions. 1926 Proc. London Math. Soc. 25 495 H. Bohr..has constructed the theory of almost periodic functions. 1950 P. R. Halmos Meas. Theory iv. 89 Motivated by Egoroff's theorem we introduce the concept of almost uniform convergence. 1968 P. A. P. Moran Introd. Probability Theory viii. 346 We say that X_n converges almost certainly to a random variable X..if the probability that the sequence {X_n} converges to X (in the usual sense) is unity. 1990 Proc. London Math. Soc. 60 68 The most effective way of reducing problems concerning finite primitive permutation groups to problems concerning almost simple groups and linear groups. 2002 S. G. Samko Hypersingular Integrals xi. 336 To show the almost everywhere convergence, we apply Theorem 2. B. adj. Premodifying a noun or noun phrase: close to being (the thing mentioned). Cf. nearly adj. ΚΠ 1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters iii. vii. f. lxxix He could no thing now wyn by y^e dealeng but euyll opynion, & almost a dispayre of his amendement. 1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Almost nyght, serum lumen. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 114 You are almost come to parte almost a fray. View more context for this quotation 1663 J. Alleine Let. 28 Aug. in T. Alleine Life J. Alleine (1672) xv. 54 Let not an almost Christianity deceive you, or ignorance carry you blindfold to perdition. 1695 J. Collier Misc. upon Moral Subj. 182 The almost Omnipresence of an Advantage, is a Circumstance of Value. 1761 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 440/1 The almost impossibility of any but the manufacturers making a right judgement of the goodness of the commodity by its appearance. 1808 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) II. 108 I am a heretic requiring toleration, an almost Quaker. 1826 W. Scott Woodstock II. ix. 245 Your Majesty heard of his almost death-swoon of last night. 1883 R. Broughton Belinda II. iii. iii. 215 Involuntarily she slackens her speed a little, from the almost run with which she had begun her course. 1935 W. G. Hardy Father Abraham 242 Serving-women glided to his elbow in almost nudity and filled again the deep blue lotus blossom of his wine-glass. 1976 I. Murdoch Henry & Cato i. 55 There was a brightness now, an almost sunshine, against a darker sky. 2001 Vibe Feb. 132 Big up to the VIBE B-ball team here in New York for its recent almost victory of 19 to 21 over the Enyce B-ball team. C. n. Something that almost happens; an event, phenomenon, etc., which just fails to succeed or satisfy. ΚΠ 1836 Mag. Nat. Hist. 9 159 Will his reverence take the trouble to demonstrate fully (I'll have no almosts) that the dipper walks at the bottom of the water? 1868 M. E. Braddon Run to Earth III. vii. 117 ‘Never mind how awkwardly the offer has been made, provided it is genuine.’..‘But I don't like “almosts”.’ 1882 Art Amateur 6 122/2 It is an exhibition of ‘almosts’. 1930 Pop. Mech. July 117/1 (advt.) Starrett Tools take the abouts and the almosts out of measuring. 1989 Atlantic Oct. 109/3 Connally's story is a succession of almosts and might-have-beens. 2002 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 17 Feb. viii. 6/5 The conference record book took one hit and had two almosts in a four-day period. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adv.adj.n.OE
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