now
advEtymology
From Middle English nou, nu, from Old English nū, from Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu (“now”), from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”). Doublet of nu ("well?"). Cognates Cognate with Scots noo, nou, now (“now”), Yola neow, now, nowe (“now”), North Frisian nü (“now”), West Frisian no (“now”), Dutch nu, nou (“now”), German nu, nun (“now”), Limburgish noe, Nuu (“now”), Danish and Swedish nu (“now”), Elfdalian nų (“now”), Faroese nú, núgv (“now”), Icelandic nú, núna (“now”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk no, nu, nå (“now”), Gothic 𐌽𐌿 (nu, “now”); also Gaulish nu (“now”), Latin num (“now”), Greek νυν (nyn, “currently, now”), Albanian ni, tani (“now”), Bulgarian ни́не (níne, “currently, now”), Czech nyní (“now”), Old Polish ninie (“now”), Russian но́не (nóne), ны́не (nýne, “now, today”), Ukrainian ни́ні (nýni, “nowadays; today”), Avestan 𐬥𐬏 (nū, “currently, now”), Baluchi نون (nún, “now”), Persian اکنون (aknun / aknūn), کنون (konun), نون (nun / nūn, “now”), Northern Kurdish ana, anaka, anêka, aniha, anika, naga, naha, naka, niha, niho, nika, noke, ئانا (ana), نکا (nka, “now”), Ossetian ныр (nyr, “now”), Hittite 𒆠𒉡𒌦 (ki-nu-un, “now”), Luwian 𒈾𒀀𒉡𒌦 (nānun, “now”), Tocharian A nuṃ (“again, once more”), Tocharian B nano (“again, once more”), Sanskrit नु (nu, “now”).
9 senses
- 1At the present time.
- 2Used to introduce a point, a qualification of what has…
- 3Differently from the immediate past; differently from a…
- 4At the time reached within a narration.
- 5Used to indicate a context of urgency.
- 6At the present point of a recurring cycle or event.
- 7Very recently; not long ago; up to the present.
- 8Used to address a switching side, or sharp change in…
- 9Sometimes; occasionally; used to list a series of often…
At the present time.
- Now I am six.
- Stop that now, Jimmy!
2 more examples
- I could have been Secretary of State now if I hadn’t left politics five years ago.
- We can’t phone now – they will certainly have gone to bed.
Used to introduce a point, a qualification of what has previously been said, a remonstration or a rebuke.
- Now, we all want what is best for our children.
- Now, Jimmy, stop that.
2 more examples
- Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter III, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 43:
- “I don’t stare at her,” Steve insisted quickly. “It’s just that every once in a while she is looking at me when I look out the window.” / “A peeping Thomasina.” / “Now, Harry.” / “Well, it’s her name. Elizabeth Thomas.”1949, Isabella Taves, “That Unpredictable Look”, in The American Magazine, volume CXLVII, Springfield, Oh.: The Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 38:
Differently from the immediate past; differently from a more remote past or a possible future; differently from all other times.
- Now I am ready.
- We all now want the latest toys for our children.
2 more examples
- We all want what is now best for our children.
- Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
At the time reached within a narration.
- Now he remembered why he had come.
- He now asked her whether she had made pudding.
1 more example
- The pudding was now ready to be served.
Used to indicate a context of urgency.
- Now listen, we must do something about this.
Informal At the present point of a recurring cycle or event.
- I always used to do my shopping now, to avoid the rush.
Obsolete, As but now Very recently; not long ago; up to the present.
- They that but now, for honour and for plate, / Made the sea blush with blood, resign their hate.c. 1656, Edmund Waller, Of a War with Spain, and Fight for Sea:
Used to address a switching side, or sharp change in attitude from before.
Usually emphasized
- Now, you want to protect me. An hour ago, you were mercilessly bullying me!
Sometimes; occasionally; used to list a series of often assumed states.
- His face fit his roles: now smiling, now earnest, now glowering, now raging.
- And then they stood about, as soldiers do; now, with their hands loosely clasped before them; now, resting a knee or a shoulder; now, easing a belt or a pouch; now, opening the door to spit stiffly over their high stocks, out into the yard.1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter V, in Great Expectations […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 63:
- Derived terms
70 terms
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