oftenadv.adj.

Brit.

/ˈɒf(ə)n/,

/ˈɒft(ə)n/, U.S.

/ˈɔf(ə)n/,

/ˈɑft(ə)n/

Forms: Middle English offen, Middle English offtyn, Middle English oftin, Middle English ofton, Middle English oftun, Middle English oftyn, Middle English oftyne, Middle English ouften, Middle English– often, 1500s hofen, 1500s hoften, 1500s offten, 1900s– affin (Irish English), 1900s– aften (Irish English); Scottish pre-1700 ofen, pre-1700 oftin, pre-1700 1700s– aften, pre-1700 1700s– often, 1800s af'en, 1800s– affen. Comparative Middle English oftynar, Middle English oftynner, Middle English– oftener, 1600s ofner, 1600s–1700s oftner, 1700s offner, 1700s off'ner; also Scottish pre-1700 oftner, pre-1700 oiftner, pre-1700 1700s– aftener, 1900s– af'ner. Superlative 1500s oftnest, 1500s oftneste, 1600s– oftenest, 1700s oft'nest; also Scottish 1900s– aftenest.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: English ofte , oft adv., -(e)n.

Etymology: < ofte, variant of oft adv. + -(e)n, probably after selden, variant of seldom adv. and adj.Often is less commonly used than oft until the 16th cent. Several orthoepists of the 16th and 17th centuries, including Hart, Bullokar, Robinson, Gil, and Hodges, give a pronunciation with medial -t- . Others, including Coles, Young, Strong, and Brown, record a pronunciation without -t- , which, despite its use in the 16th cent. by Elizabeth I, seems to have been avoided by careful speakers in the 17th cent. (see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §405). Loss of t after f occurs in other cases; compare soften v., and also raft n.¹, haft n.¹, etc. The pronunciation with -t- has frequently been considered to be hypercorrection in recent times: see for example H. W. Fowler Mod. Eng. Usage (1926), s.v. N.E.D. (1902) records the pronunciation (ǫ̀·f'n) /ˈɒf(ə)n/, /ˈɔːf(ə)n/ (see etymological note s.v. O n.¹).

A. adv.

a. Many times; at many times; on numerous occasions; frequently; for a significant amount or proportion of the time.Contrasted with seldom.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > [adverb]

unseldea950

oftOE

thickOE

ylomeOE

oftsithec1175

oftsithesc1175

lomec1200

oftlya1225

oft-stounds1303

continuallyc1305

oftena1325

rifely1357

oft-timesc1384

oft-timec1387

oftentimesa1393

oftentimec1395

fele-sitha1400

lightlya1400

oftentide?a1400

rifea1400

seresitha1400

many a foldc1400

often sithec1405

hauntinglyc1440

by many a foldc1450

fele-syss1489

frequently1531

feltymesc1540

oftens1567

oftenly1574

frequent1614

repeatedlya1647

(as) often as not1723

more often (or oftener) than not1723

not uncommonly1747

not infrequently1779

(at) every whip-stitch1824

oftenwhilesa1850

at short intervals1859

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 154 Euere schinen ðo toknes brigt, And often giuen is on erðe ligt.

c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 310 A sergeaunt of the lawe often [v.r. oftyn] hadde been at the Parvys.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 3520 A day, as he was oftin [a1400 Vesp. oft] wont.

c1400 Simonie (Peterhouse) (1991) l. 321 Now is non mysprowd squier..Bot he..swere by Goddes sowle and often vowen to God.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 67 (MED) The erthe & the lond chaungeþ often his colour.

?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. l. f. 34^v (MED) He calliþ þe wel ouften, wiþ his swete priue vois.

1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aiii Ful often she complayned y^t [etc.].

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxiii. 37 Howe often [c1384 Wycliffite, E.V. oft, a1425 L.V. ofte] wolde I have gaddered thy children to gedder.

1589 R. Lane in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 743 For hee had often before tolde them, and then renewed those his former speeches, both to the king and the rest, that wee were the seruants of God.

1602 E. Hayes in J. Brereton Briefe Relation Discouerie Virginia 15 These lands were neuer yet actually possessed by any Christian prince or people, yet often intended to be by the French nation.

a1648 Ld. Herbert Life (1976) 9 The English shot her [the Spanish ship] through and through so often that she run her self a ground.

1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World ix. 251 I have often wonder'd at his Expressions and Actions.

1701 D. Defoe True-born Englishman ii. 33 Seldom contented, often in the wrong.

1721 A. Ramsay Poems I. 322 Thus when braid flakes of snow have cled the green, Aften I have young sportive gilpies seen.

1777 J. Howard State Prisons Eng. & Wales 183 A generous Benefactor (a salesman in Smithfield) often sends the Prisoners beef and bread.

1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 129 The..veteran soldier, that has..heard the bullets whistle as aften as he has hairs left on his auld pow.

1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. Apr. 405 The crown of England, always at strife, and often at open war, with its own barons.

1895 in Daily News 23 July 6/1 Cholera, that foe we have so often to face in India.

a1930 N. Munro Mrs Duffy deserts her Man in B. D. Osborne & R. Armstrong Erchie & Jimmy Swan (1993) i. vi. 27 I ken fine because Jinnet aften tellt me.

1956 S. Bedford Legacy ii. ii. 59 He often worried about the neighbours.

1998 N.Y. Times 19 July 47/2 You cook it often, and you cook it well.

b. In the comparative and superlative. (Now more frequently as more often or most often.)

ΚΠ

1415 in 43rd Ann. Rep. Deputy Keeper Public Rec. (1882) App. i. 590 in Parl. Papers (C. 3425) XXXVI. 1 That greuosly hath ofendid oftener than ons.

a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 169 (MED) I wolde spekyn to þe oftynar þan þu wilt latyn me.

1467 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 380 [They] shullen com and assemble togeder in euery quarter of the yere, ones or oftener and it nede.

a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 10952 (MED) Of suche þing as þou hast nede, Labore þe oftener wiþ good spede.

1558 Bp. T. Watson Holsome Doctr. Seuen Sacramentes xi. f. lxi^v He..that the oftneste and with moste reuerence commeth.

1595 Countess of Pembroke tr. R. Garnier Trag. Antonie sig. D8^v Hir fauour, wauering as the wind, Hir greatest power therein doth oftnest shewe.

1611 Bible (King James) Acts xxiv. 26 He hoped also that money should haue bene giuen him of Paul, that hee might loose him: wherefore hee sent for him the oftner and communed with him.

1642 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (new ed.) 80 Every sinne, the oftner it is committed the more it acquireth in the quality of evill.

1671 J. Sharp Midwives Bk. ii. iv. 112 The Child that is alive moves to all sides..but oftenest to the right flanck.

a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 176 As has happened oftner than once.

1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 178 The county court is a court held every month or oftener by the sheriff.

1785 W. Cowper Task i. 411 An idol at whose shrine Who oft'nest sacrifice are favour'd least.

1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. xi. 233 I have no doubt that he oftener endeavours to restrain himself than he would if he had been any thing but a Clergyman.

1859 C. Darwin Origin of Species iv. 92 Those individual flowers..would be oftenest visited by insects, and would be oftenest crossed.

1895 T. Hardy Jude i. ix. 70 It seemed to him..that the dimples were far oftener absent from her face..nowadays than they had been.

1917 D. G. Mitchell Kirk i' Clachan 132 They that are nearest their Lord an' aftenest wi' Him.

1947 D. H. Robinson Leguminous Forage Plants (ed. 2) iv. 59 Alternate a trefoil ley with a red clover ley, so that red clover does not occupy the land oftener than once in 8 years.

1983 D. Smith Starlight Barking i. 12 Pongo, strolling, under the stars, told himself he must count his blessings oftener.

c. In colloquial phrases, as often and often: very often, repeatedly (now rare); (as) often as not, more often (or oftener) than not: usually, frequently. every so often: see every adj. and pron. Phrases 3d; once too often: see once adv., conj., adj., and n. Phrases 7.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > [adverb]

unseldea950

oftOE

thickOE

ylomeOE

oftsithec1175

oftsithesc1175

lomec1200

oftlya1225

oft-stounds1303

continuallyc1305

oftena1325

rifely1357

oft-timesc1384

oft-timec1387

oftentimesa1393

oftentimec1395

fele-sitha1400

lightlya1400

oftentide?a1400

rifea1400

seresitha1400

many a foldc1400

often sithec1405

hauntinglyc1440

by many a foldc1450

fele-syss1489

frequently1531

feltymesc1540

oftens1567

oftenly1574

frequent1614

repeatedlya1647

(as) often as not1723

more often (or oftener) than not1723

not uncommonly1747

not infrequently1779

(at) every whip-stitch1824

oftenwhilesa1850

at short intervals1859

1723 R. Steele Conscious Lovers iv. iii. 68 I have seen him often and often at Church in the Country.

1800 M. Edgeworth Castle Rackrent 7 Men of the first consequence..made it their choice, often and often,..to sleep in the chicken-house.

1840 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop I. vii. 118 They deceive you just as often as not.

1848 J. F. Cooper Oak Openings I. ii. 37 The smouldering ruins of log-houses, oftener than not, cover the remains of their tenants.

1874 A. Trollope Lady Anna I. xiii. 160 The girl, who had never been waited on in her life, and who had more often than not made her mother's bed and her own till they had come up to London.

1915 W. Cather Song of Lark i. xii. 86 If wiving went badly with a man,—and it did oftener than not,—then he must do the best he could to keep up appearances.

1919 E. O'Neill In Zone in Moon of Caribbees (1923) 16 All them German spies they been catchin' in England has been livin' there for ten, often as not twenty years.

1942 S. O'Casey Pictures in Hallway 116 He often an' often made up his mind to tell Mr. Anthony all 'bout it.

1962 M. Drabble Summer Bird-cage xi. 185 I..use a small red plastic colander, and everything eels into the sink as often as not.

1995 Accountancy Nov. 50/1 Like sportsmen and women after their career is over, they, more often than not, find themselves at a loose end.

2. Used to modify the whole of a statement of fact or opinion: in many instances; in cases frequently occurring.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > in many instances or on most occasions

many timec1275

many timesc1275

most whilec1383

oftenc1390

mostwhen1555

most an end1577

c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3230 Youthe and elde is often at debaat.

1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aii ^v Full often suche as come of ryght pore and vnnoble fader and moder, haue grete abletees of nature.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. viii Worldly chaunces..in adversitye often chaunge from euell to good and so to bettre.

1652 N. Culpeper Eng. Physitian Enlarged 83 It groweth in moist grounds..ofner than in the dry and open fields.

1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires x. 191 Whole Houses, of their whole Desires possest, Are often Ruin'd, at their own Request.

1707 J. Freind Acct. Earl of Peterborow's Conduct in Spain 58 Such effects..are too often paid for by an after-reckoning.

1776 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 66 282 The summers are often so unkindly, that their wheat is blighted while in ear.

1826 S. Cooper First Lines Pract. Surg. (ed. 5) ii. xv. 354 The disease will often remain stationary during life.

1878 W. S. Jevons Polit. Econ. vii. 59 A good character is often worth a great deal of money.

1886 W. Pater Appreciations (1890) 137–8 A museum is seldom a cheerful place—oftenest induces the feeling that nothing could ever have been young.

1913 W. Cather O Pioneers! i. i. 17 There is often a good deal of the child left in people who have had to grow up too soon.

1967 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 113 283/2 Age of onset is often a better criterion of the type of mental illness than a psychiatric diagnosis.

1999 Independent 10 Nov. 10/7 [Caracalla] murdered his own brother and ordered the slaughter of 20,000 other, often high-ranking, Romans.

B. adj.

Done, made, happening, or occurring many times; frequent. Now rare.Common in 16th and 17th centuries.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > [adjective]

commona1325

ofta1382

yedera1400

oftena1450

thick?c1450

repeated1577

obvious1586

crebrousc1600

frequent1604

thick and threefold1615

oftentime1876

oft-time1895

a1450 Mandeville's Trav. (Bodl. e Mus.) 9 (MED) Manye of the thornys lyn broken..for oftyn shewynge to pilgrymis.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Tim. v. 23 Vse a lytell wyne for thy stommakes sake, and thyne often diseases.

1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 244 Had not be hys often confortes, she myghte not haue abyden the tyme of hys passyon wyth her lyfe.

1558 in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1824) I. ii. iv. 397 There should be no often changes in religion.

1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 24 Esspecial thanks for your ernest and often letters in mi behalf.

1602 B. Jonson Poetaster iv. ii. sig. G^v Any fauours, that may worthily make you an often Courtier.

?1637 T. Hobbes tr. Aristotle Briefe Art Rhetorique iii. iii. 158 Long impertinent, and often Epithets.

1640 E. Reynolds Treat. Passions xiii Liable to an oftner anger.

a1706 J. Evelyn Life Mrs. Godolphin (1939) 10 To my often Admiration.

1729 E. Fenton Observ. Waller's Poems in E. Waller Wks. p. xix/2 Her blood is kept pure, by often alliance with great and Princely families.

1771 P. Luckombe Hist. & Art of Printing 365 The equal and often Taking of Ink in a small quantity.

1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. v. 15/1 The greatest and oftenest laugher?

1896 W. D. Howells Impressions & Experiences 210 I knew those lemons..from often study of them on their shelf.

1908 Daily Chron. 19 Feb. 4/4 Constant intercourse, an uninterrupted exchange of ideas, a frequent mingling and an often hospitality, will bind the two nations together in the bonds of affection and understanding.

Compounds

C1. With nouns denoting time, forming adverbs meaning ‘often’. Cf. also oftentime adv. and adj., oftentimes adv.

† often sithe adv. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > [adverb]

unseldea950

oftOE

thickOE

ylomeOE

oftsithec1175

oftsithesc1175

lomec1200

oftlya1225

oft-stounds1303

continuallyc1305

oftena1325

rifely1357

oft-timesc1384

oft-timec1387

oftentimesa1393

oftentimec1395

fele-sitha1400

lightlya1400

oftentide?a1400

rifea1400

seresitha1400

many a foldc1400

often sithec1405

hauntinglyc1440

by many a foldc1450

fele-syss1489

frequently1531

feltymesc1540

oftens1567

oftenly1574

frequent1614

repeatedlya1647

(as) often as not1723

more often (or oftener) than not1723

not uncommonly1747

not infrequently1779

(at) every whip-stitch1824

oftenwhilesa1850

at short intervals1859

c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Ellesmere) (1868) 1877 Every maner wight..thonken hym..often sithe [v.r. mony sith].

a1577 G. Gascoigne Wks. (1587) For whom I sighed have so often sithe.

† often-sithes adv. (also Scottishoftin syis) Obsolete

ΚΠ

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 193 (MED) Men seen him often sithes, now in o colour & now in anoþer colour.

a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 1716 (MED) Shal a man þat curteis is Goo visite his frende often siþes?

1568 R. Henryson in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 126 Thus it happin oftin [?a1500 happinnis mony] syis.

† oftentide adv. Obsolete

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > [adverb]

unseldea950

oftOE

thickOE

ylomeOE

oftsithec1175

oftsithesc1175

lomec1200

oftlya1225

oft-stounds1303

continuallyc1305

oftena1325

rifely1357

oft-timesc1384

oft-timec1387

oftentimesa1393

oftentimec1395

fele-sitha1400

lightlya1400

oftentide?a1400

rifea1400

seresitha1400

many a foldc1400

often sithec1405

hauntinglyc1440

by many a foldc1450

fele-syss1489

frequently1531

feltymesc1540

oftens1567

oftenly1574

frequent1614

repeatedlya1647

(as) often as not1723

more often (or oftener) than not1723

not uncommonly1747

not infrequently1779

(at) every whip-stitch1824

oftenwhilesa1850

at short intervals1859

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 289 Boste & deignouse pride & ille avisement Mishapnes oftentide.

oftenwhile adv. (now rare).

ΚΠ

1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 126 Even a holy Guile Findes with thee grace and favour often-while.

a1894 R. B. W. Noel Faust iii, in Coll. Poems (1902) 381 They are near Who oftenwhile may see and hear!

a1905 W. Sharp Shepherd in Poems & Dramas (1910) 97 This heart of mine a wave is oftenwhile.

oftenwhiles adv. (now rare).

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > [adverb]

unseldea950

oftOE

thickOE

ylomeOE

oftsithec1175

oftsithesc1175

lomec1200

oftlya1225

oft-stounds1303

continuallyc1305

oftena1325

rifely1357

oft-timesc1384

oft-timec1387

oftentimesa1393

oftentimec1395

fele-sitha1400

lightlya1400

oftentide?a1400

rifea1400

seresitha1400

many a foldc1400

often sithec1405

hauntinglyc1440

by many a foldc1450

fele-syss1489

frequently1531

feltymesc1540

oftens1567

oftenly1574

frequent1614

repeatedlya1647

(as) often as not1723

more often (or oftener) than not1723

not uncommonly1747

not infrequently1779

(at) every whip-stitch1824

oftenwhilesa1850

at short intervals1859

a1850 D. G. Rossetti Dante & Circle (1874) i. 42 I had oftenwhiles many troublesome hours.

a1875 M. A. Lee Hymn in H. Butterworth Story of Hymns (1875) 283 I am far frae my hame, an' I'm weary oftenwhiles.

1914 T. Hardy Satires of Circumstance 66 The truth of it is that oftenwhiles I have wished, as I am fond of art, To make my rooms a little smart.

C2. Preceding a participial adjective used attributively (now usually with hyphen), as often-cited, often-expressed, often-recurring, often-repeated, often-used, etc.

ΚΠ

1583 Sir P. Sidney Def. of Poesie Do we not see skill of Phisicke the best ramper to our often assaulted bodies?

1597 T. Middleton Wisdome of Solomon Paraphr. xvi The often weeping eies of drie lament, Doth powre forth burning water of despaire.

1601 Marie Magdalens Lament. ii. xx This often-heard report.

a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1954) VII. 376 Second or oftner-iterated Marriages.

1682 Fortunatus xxxix. 88 He having notice of it from one of her Uirgins; to whom she had revealed it by reason of his often repeated liberalities towards her.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xiii. i. 3 Thy tempting Rewards..thy quickly convertible Bank-bill..thy often-varying Stock [etc.] .

1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. v. 70 In the often-cited charter of Henry the first.

1788 A. Hamilton in Federalist Papers xii. 70 The often-agitated question between agriculture and commerce, has from indubitable experience received a decision.

a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. v. 66 His often-expressed fears of her seeing nothing to her taste—though never in her life before had she beheld half such variety on a breakfast-table.

1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XIII xxxvi. 73 Adeline was not indifferent:..As a Volcano holds the lava more Within—..No! I hate to hunt down a tired metaphor: So let the often used volcano go.

1834 C. M. Sedgewick Redwood I. vii. 227 She had been resigned in afflictions, patient under all those often recurring vexations and petty disappointments.

1859 I. Taylor Logic in Theol. 316 That often-recurrent affirmation concerning the purpose of the death of Christ.

a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. v. 108 The greatly elongated and exaggerated first polyp of the colony, from which all the other polyps arise by often-repeated budding.

1970 J. Cotler in I. L. Horowitz Masses in Lat. Amer. xii. 407 This often-cited image is based on socio-cultural contrasts between the coast and the sierra.

1993 Dog World Oct. 94/2 Another often-expressed fear from the breed ring is that obedience will kill the dog's spirit.

2001 Daily Tel. 18 Apr. 40/6 It had made us inescapably aware of an unglamorous and often-overlooked scandal.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	often
释义	oftenadv.adj. Brit. /ˈɒf(ə)n/, /ˈɒft(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈɔf(ə)n/, /ˈɑft(ə)n/ Forms: Middle English offen, Middle English offtyn, Middle English oftin, Middle English ofton, Middle English oftun, Middle English oftyn, Middle English oftyne, Middle English ouften, Middle English– often, 1500s hofen, 1500s hoften, 1500s offten, 1900s– affin (Irish English), 1900s– aften (Irish English); Scottish pre-1700 ofen, pre-1700 oftin, pre-1700 1700s– aften, pre-1700 1700s– often, 1800s af'en, 1800s– affen. Comparative Middle English oftynar, Middle English oftynner, Middle English– oftener, 1600s ofner, 1600s–1700s oftner, 1700s offner, 1700s off'ner; also Scottish pre-1700 oftner, pre-1700 oiftner, pre-1700 1700s– aftener, 1900s– af'ner. Superlative 1500s oftnest, 1500s oftneste, 1600s– oftenest, 1700s oft'nest; also Scottish 1900s– aftenest. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: English ofte , oft adv., -(e)n. Etymology: < ofte, variant of oft adv. + -(e)n, probably after selden, variant of seldom adv. and adj.Often is less commonly used than oft until the 16th cent. Several orthoepists of the 16th and 17th centuries, including Hart, Bullokar, Robinson, Gil, and Hodges, give a pronunciation with medial -t- . Others, including Coles, Young, Strong, and Brown, record a pronunciation without -t- , which, despite its use in the 16th cent. by Elizabeth I, seems to have been avoided by careful speakers in the 17th cent. (see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §405). Loss of t after f occurs in other cases; compare soften v., and also raft n.¹, haft n.¹, etc. The pronunciation with -t- has frequently been considered to be hypercorrection in recent times: see for example H. W. Fowler Mod. Eng. Usage (1926), s.v. N.E.D. (1902) records the pronunciation (ǫ̀·f'n) /ˈɒf(ə)n/, /ˈɔːf(ə)n/ (see etymological note s.v. O n.¹). A. adv. 1. a. Many times; at many times; on numerous occasions; frequently; for a significant amount or proportion of the time.Contrasted with seldom. ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > [adverb] unseldea950 oftOE thickOE ylomeOE oftsithec1175 oftsithesc1175 lomec1200 oftlya1225 oft-stounds1303 continuallyc1305 oftena1325 rifely1357 oft-timesc1384 oft-timec1387 oftentimesa1393 oftentimec1395 fele-sitha1400 lightlya1400 oftentide?a1400 rifea1400 seresitha1400 many a foldc1400 often sithec1405 hauntinglyc1440 by many a foldc1450 fele-syss1489 frequently1531 feltymesc1540 oftens1567 oftenly1574 frequent1614 repeatedlya1647 (as) often as not1723 more often (or oftener) than not1723 not uncommonly1747 not infrequently1779 (at) every whip-stitch1824 oftenwhilesa1850 at short intervals1859 a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 154 Euere schinen ðo toknes brigt, And often giuen is on erðe ligt. c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 310 A sergeaunt of the lawe often [v.r. oftyn] hadde been at the Parvys. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 3520 A day, as he was oftin [a1400 Vesp. oft] wont. c1400 Simonie (Peterhouse) (1991) l. 321 Now is non mysprowd squier..Bot he..swere by Goddes sowle and often vowen to God. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 67 (MED) The erthe & the lond chaungeþ often his colour. ?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. l. f. 34^v (MED) He calliþ þe wel ouften, wiþ his swete priue vois. 1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aiii Ful often she complayned y^t [etc.]. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxiii. 37 Howe often [c1384 Wycliffite, E.V. oft, a1425 L.V. ofte] wolde I have gaddered thy children to gedder. 1589 R. Lane in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 743 For hee had often before tolde them, and then renewed those his former speeches, both to the king and the rest, that wee were the seruants of God. 1602 E. Hayes in J. Brereton Briefe Relation Discouerie Virginia 15 These lands were neuer yet actually possessed by any Christian prince or people, yet often intended to be by the French nation. a1648 Ld. Herbert Life (1976) 9 The English shot her [the Spanish ship] through and through so often that she run her self a ground. 1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World ix. 251 I have often wonder'd at his Expressions and Actions. 1701 D. Defoe True-born Englishman ii. 33 Seldom contented, often in the wrong. 1721 A. Ramsay Poems I. 322 Thus when braid flakes of snow have cled the green, Aften I have young sportive gilpies seen. 1777 J. Howard State Prisons Eng. & Wales 183 A generous Benefactor (a salesman in Smithfield) often sends the Prisoners beef and bread. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 129 The..veteran soldier, that has..heard the bullets whistle as aften as he has hairs left on his auld pow. 1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. Apr. 405 The crown of England, always at strife, and often at open war, with its own barons. 1895 in Daily News 23 July 6/1 Cholera, that foe we have so often to face in India. a1930 N. Munro Mrs Duffy deserts her Man in B. D. Osborne & R. Armstrong Erchie & Jimmy Swan (1993) i. vi. 27 I ken fine because Jinnet aften tellt me. 1956 S. Bedford Legacy ii. ii. 59 He often worried about the neighbours. 1998 N.Y. Times 19 July 47/2 You cook it often, and you cook it well. b. In the comparative and superlative. (Now more frequently as more often or most often.) ΚΠ 1415 in 43rd Ann. Rep. Deputy Keeper Public Rec. (1882) App. i. 590 in Parl. Papers (C. 3425) XXXVI. 1 That greuosly hath ofendid oftener than ons. a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 169 (MED) I wolde spekyn to þe oftynar þan þu wilt latyn me. 1467 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 380 [They] shullen com and assemble togeder in euery quarter of the yere, ones or oftener and it nede. a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 10952 (MED) Of suche þing as þou hast nede, Labore þe oftener wiþ good spede. 1558 Bp. T. Watson Holsome Doctr. Seuen Sacramentes xi. f. lxi^v He..that the oftneste and with moste reuerence commeth. 1595 Countess of Pembroke tr. R. Garnier Trag. Antonie sig. D8^v Hir fauour, wauering as the wind, Hir greatest power therein doth oftnest shewe. 1611 Bible (King James) Acts xxiv. 26 He hoped also that money should haue bene giuen him of Paul, that hee might loose him: wherefore hee sent for him the oftner and communed with him. View more context for this quotation 1642 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (new ed.) 80 Every sinne, the oftner it is committed the more it acquireth in the quality of evill. 1671 J. Sharp Midwives Bk. ii. iv. 112 The Child that is alive moves to all sides..but oftenest to the right flanck. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 176 As has happened oftner than once. 1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 178 The county court is a court held every month or oftener by the sheriff. 1785 W. Cowper Task i. 411 An idol at whose shrine Who oft'nest sacrifice are favour'd least. 1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. xi. 233 I have no doubt that he oftener endeavours to restrain himself than he would if he had been any thing but a Clergyman. View more context for this quotation 1859 C. Darwin Origin of Species iv. 92 Those individual flowers..would be oftenest visited by insects, and would be oftenest crossed. 1895 T. Hardy Jude i. ix. 70 It seemed to him..that the dimples were far oftener absent from her face..nowadays than they had been. 1917 D. G. Mitchell Kirk i' Clachan 132 They that are nearest their Lord an' aftenest wi' Him. 1947 D. H. Robinson Leguminous Forage Plants (ed. 2) iv. 59 Alternate a trefoil ley with a red clover ley, so that red clover does not occupy the land oftener than once in 8 years. 1983 D. Smith Starlight Barking i. 12 Pongo, strolling, under the stars, told himself he must count his blessings oftener. c. In colloquial phrases, as often and often: very often, repeatedly (now rare); (as) often as not, more often (or oftener) than not: usually, frequently. every so often: see every adj. and pron. Phrases 3d; once too often: see once adv., conj., adj., and n. Phrases 7. ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > [adverb] unseldea950 oftOE thickOE ylomeOE oftsithec1175 oftsithesc1175 lomec1200 oftlya1225 oft-stounds1303 continuallyc1305 oftena1325 rifely1357 oft-timesc1384 oft-timec1387 oftentimesa1393 oftentimec1395 fele-sitha1400 lightlya1400 oftentide?a1400 rifea1400 seresitha1400 many a foldc1400 often sithec1405 hauntinglyc1440 by many a foldc1450 fele-syss1489 frequently1531 feltymesc1540 oftens1567 oftenly1574 frequent1614 repeatedlya1647 (as) often as not1723 more often (or oftener) than not1723 not uncommonly1747 not infrequently1779 (at) every whip-stitch1824 oftenwhilesa1850 at short intervals1859 1723 R. Steele Conscious Lovers iv. iii. 68 I have seen him often and often at Church in the Country. 1800 M. Edgeworth Castle Rackrent 7 Men of the first consequence..made it their choice, often and often,..to sleep in the chicken-house. 1840 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop I. vii. 118 They deceive you just as often as not. 1848 J. F. Cooper Oak Openings I. ii. 37 The smouldering ruins of log-houses, oftener than not, cover the remains of their tenants. 1874 A. Trollope Lady Anna I. xiii. 160 The girl, who had never been waited on in her life, and who had more often than not made her mother's bed and her own till they had come up to London. 1915 W. Cather Song of Lark i. xii. 86 If wiving went badly with a man,—and it did oftener than not,—then he must do the best he could to keep up appearances. 1919 E. O'Neill In Zone in Moon of Caribbees (1923) 16 All them German spies they been catchin' in England has been livin' there for ten, often as not twenty years. 1942 S. O'Casey Pictures in Hallway 116 He often an' often made up his mind to tell Mr. Anthony all 'bout it. 1962 M. Drabble Summer Bird-cage xi. 185 I..use a small red plastic colander, and everything eels into the sink as often as not. 1995 Accountancy Nov. 50/1 Like sportsmen and women after their career is over, they, more often than not, find themselves at a loose end. 2. Used to modify the whole of a statement of fact or opinion: in many instances; in cases frequently occurring. ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > in many instances or on most occasions many timec1275 many timesc1275 most whilec1383 oftenc1390 mostwhen1555 most an end1577 c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3230 Youthe and elde is often at debaat. 1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aii ^v Full often suche as come of ryght pore and vnnoble fader and moder, haue grete abletees of nature. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. viii Worldly chaunces..in adversitye often chaunge from euell to good and so to bettre. 1652 N. Culpeper Eng. Physitian Enlarged 83 It groweth in moist grounds..ofner than in the dry and open fields. 1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires x. 191 Whole Houses, of their whole Desires possest, Are often Ruin'd, at their own Request. 1707 J. Freind Acct. Earl of Peterborow's Conduct in Spain 58 Such effects..are too often paid for by an after-reckoning. 1776 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 66 282 The summers are often so unkindly, that their wheat is blighted while in ear. 1826 S. Cooper First Lines Pract. Surg. (ed. 5) ii. xv. 354 The disease will often remain stationary during life. 1878 W. S. Jevons Polit. Econ. vii. 59 A good character is often worth a great deal of money. 1886 W. Pater Appreciations (1890) 137–8 A museum is seldom a cheerful place—oftenest induces the feeling that nothing could ever have been young. 1913 W. Cather O Pioneers! i. i. 17 There is often a good deal of the child left in people who have had to grow up too soon. 1967 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 113 283/2 Age of onset is often a better criterion of the type of mental illness than a psychiatric diagnosis. 1999 Independent 10 Nov. 10/7 [Caracalla] murdered his own brother and ordered the slaughter of 20,000 other, often high-ranking, Romans. B. adj. Done, made, happening, or occurring many times; frequent. Now rare.Common in 16th and 17th centuries. ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > [adjective] commona1325 ofta1382 yedera1400 oftena1450 thick?c1450 repeated1577 obvious1586 crebrousc1600 frequent1604 thick and threefold1615 oftentime1876 oft-time1895 a1450 Mandeville's Trav. (Bodl. e Mus.) 9 (MED) Manye of the thornys lyn broken..for oftyn shewynge to pilgrymis. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Tim. v. 23 Vse a lytell wyne for thy stommakes sake, and thyne often diseases. 1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 244 Had not be hys often confortes, she myghte not haue abyden the tyme of hys passyon wyth her lyfe. 1558 in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1824) I. ii. iv. 397 There should be no often changes in religion. 1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 24 Esspecial thanks for your ernest and often letters in mi behalf. 1602 B. Jonson Poetaster iv. ii. sig. G^v Any fauours, that may worthily make you an often Courtier. View more context for this quotation ?1637 T. Hobbes tr. Aristotle Briefe Art Rhetorique iii. iii. 158 Long impertinent, and often Epithets. 1640 E. Reynolds Treat. Passions xiii Liable to an oftner anger. a1706 J. Evelyn Life Mrs. Godolphin (1939) 10 To my often Admiration. 1729 E. Fenton Observ. Waller's Poems in E. Waller Wks. p. xix/2 Her blood is kept pure, by often alliance with great and Princely families. 1771 P. Luckombe Hist. & Art of Printing 365 The equal and often Taking of Ink in a small quantity. 1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. v. 15/1 The greatest and oftenest laugher? 1896 W. D. Howells Impressions & Experiences 210 I knew those lemons..from often study of them on their shelf. 1908 Daily Chron. 19 Feb. 4/4 Constant intercourse, an uninterrupted exchange of ideas, a frequent mingling and an often hospitality, will bind the two nations together in the bonds of affection and understanding. Compounds C1. With nouns denoting time, forming adverbs meaning ‘often’. Cf. also oftentime adv. and adj., oftentimes adv. † often sithe adv. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > [adverb] unseldea950 oftOE thickOE ylomeOE oftsithec1175 oftsithesc1175 lomec1200 oftlya1225 oft-stounds1303 continuallyc1305 oftena1325 rifely1357 oft-timesc1384 oft-timec1387 oftentimesa1393 oftentimec1395 fele-sitha1400 lightlya1400 oftentide?a1400 rifea1400 seresitha1400 many a foldc1400 often sithec1405 hauntinglyc1440 by many a foldc1450 fele-syss1489 frequently1531 feltymesc1540 oftens1567 oftenly1574 frequent1614 repeatedlya1647 (as) often as not1723 more often (or oftener) than not1723 not uncommonly1747 not infrequently1779 (at) every whip-stitch1824 oftenwhilesa1850 at short intervals1859 c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Ellesmere) (1868) 1877 Every maner wight..thonken hym..often sithe [v.r. mony sith]. a1577 G. Gascoigne Wks. (1587) For whom I sighed have so often sithe. † often-sithes adv. (also Scottishoftin syis) Obsolete ΚΠ ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 193 (MED) Men seen him often sithes, now in o colour & now in anoþer colour. a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 1716 (MED) Shal a man þat curteis is Goo visite his frende often siþes? 1568 R. Henryson in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 126 Thus it happin oftin [?a1500 happinnis mony] syis. † oftentide adv. Obsolete ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > [adverb] unseldea950 oftOE thickOE ylomeOE oftsithec1175 oftsithesc1175 lomec1200 oftlya1225 oft-stounds1303 continuallyc1305 oftena1325 rifely1357 oft-timesc1384 oft-timec1387 oftentimesa1393 oftentimec1395 fele-sitha1400 lightlya1400 oftentide?a1400 rifea1400 seresitha1400 many a foldc1400 often sithec1405 hauntinglyc1440 by many a foldc1450 fele-syss1489 frequently1531 feltymesc1540 oftens1567 oftenly1574 frequent1614 repeatedlya1647 (as) often as not1723 more often (or oftener) than not1723 not uncommonly1747 not infrequently1779 (at) every whip-stitch1824 oftenwhilesa1850 at short intervals1859 ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 289 Boste & deignouse pride & ille avisement Mishapnes oftentide. oftenwhile adv. (now rare). ΚΠ 1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 126 Even a holy Guile Findes with thee grace and favour often-while. a1894 R. B. W. Noel Faust iii, in Coll. Poems (1902) 381 They are near Who oftenwhile may see and hear! a1905 W. Sharp Shepherd in Poems & Dramas (1910) 97 This heart of mine a wave is oftenwhile. oftenwhiles adv. (now rare). ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > [adverb] unseldea950 oftOE thickOE ylomeOE oftsithec1175 oftsithesc1175 lomec1200 oftlya1225 oft-stounds1303 continuallyc1305 oftena1325 rifely1357 oft-timesc1384 oft-timec1387 oftentimesa1393 oftentimec1395 fele-sitha1400 lightlya1400 oftentide?a1400 rifea1400 seresitha1400 many a foldc1400 often sithec1405 hauntinglyc1440 by many a foldc1450 fele-syss1489 frequently1531 feltymesc1540 oftens1567 oftenly1574 frequent1614 repeatedlya1647 (as) often as not1723 more often (or oftener) than not1723 not uncommonly1747 not infrequently1779 (at) every whip-stitch1824 oftenwhilesa1850 at short intervals1859 a1850 D. G. Rossetti Dante & Circle (1874) i. 42 I had oftenwhiles many troublesome hours. a1875 M. A. Lee Hymn in H. Butterworth Story of Hymns (1875) 283 I am far frae my hame, an' I'm weary oftenwhiles. 1914 T. Hardy Satires of Circumstance 66 The truth of it is that oftenwhiles I have wished, as I am fond of art, To make my rooms a little smart. C2. Preceding a participial adjective used attributively (now usually with hyphen), as often-cited, often-expressed, often-recurring, often-repeated, often-used, etc. ΚΠ 1583 Sir P. Sidney Def. of Poesie Do we not see skill of Phisicke the best ramper to our often assaulted bodies? 1597 T. Middleton Wisdome of Solomon Paraphr. xvi The often weeping eies of drie lament, Doth powre forth burning water of despaire. 1601 Marie Magdalens Lament. ii. xx This often-heard report. a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1954) VII. 376 Second or oftner-iterated Marriages. 1682 Fortunatus xxxix. 88 He having notice of it from one of her Uirgins; to whom she had revealed it by reason of his often repeated liberalities towards her. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xiii. i. 3 Thy tempting Rewards..thy quickly convertible Bank-bill..thy often-varying Stock [etc.] . View more context for this quotation 1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. v. 70 In the often-cited charter of Henry the first. 1788 A. Hamilton in Federalist Papers xii. 70 The often-agitated question between agriculture and commerce, has from indubitable experience received a decision. a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. v. 66 His often-expressed fears of her seeing nothing to her taste—though never in her life before had she beheld half such variety on a breakfast-table. View more context for this quotation 1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XIII xxxvi. 73 Adeline was not indifferent:..As a Volcano holds the lava more Within—..No! I hate to hunt down a tired metaphor: So let the often used volcano go. 1834 C. M. Sedgewick Redwood I. vii. 227 She had been resigned in afflictions, patient under all those often recurring vexations and petty disappointments. 1859 I. Taylor Logic in Theol. 316 That often-recurrent affirmation concerning the purpose of the death of Christ. a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. v. 108 The greatly elongated and exaggerated first polyp of the colony, from which all the other polyps arise by often-repeated budding. 1970 J. Cotler in I. L. Horowitz Masses in Lat. Amer. xii. 407 This often-cited image is based on socio-cultural contrasts between the coast and the sierra. 1993 Dog World Oct. 94/2 Another often-expressed fear from the breed ring is that obedience will kill the dog's spirit. 2001 Daily Tel. 18 Apr. 40/6 It had made us inescapably aware of an unglamorous and often-overlooked scandal. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adv.adj.a1325
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