tomorrow meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

tomorrow

adv

UK /təˈmɒɹəʊ/ · US /təˈmɑɹoʊ/

Etymology From Middle English tomorwe, tomorwen, from Old English tō morgne (“tomorrow”, adverb), from tō (“at, on”) + morgne (dative of morgen (“morning”)), from Proto-Germanic *murganaz (“morning”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *mergʰ- (“to blink, to twinkle”), equivalent to to- + morrow. Compare French demain, Dutch morgen, German morgen, Swedish imorgon or Danish i morgen.

On the day after the present day.

He has vamp'd an old speech, and the court to their sorrow, / Shall hear him harangue against Prior to morrow.1711 [December?] (date written), Jonathan Swift, “An Excellent New Song. Being the Intended Speech of a Famous Orator against Peace [i.e., Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham].”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume VII, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC, page 72:
It was eight o'clock to-morrow evening when I buckled up my travelling writing-desk in its leather case, paid my Bill, and got on my warm coats and wrappers.1855, Charles Dickens, “The Holly-tree. Third Branch—The Bill”, in Christmas Stories […] (The Works of Charles Dickens; XV), de luxe edition, London: Chapman and Hall, published 1881, →OCLC, page 63:

At some point in the future; later on

If you don’t get your life on track today, you’re going to be very sorry tomorrow.

Obsolete, Possibly On next (period of time other than a day, such as a week or a month), following the present (period of time).

Resolved, &c. That the House be Called over again on Tomorrow Month, being the Six-and-twentieth Day of April next.1664 March 28, debate in Great Britain's House of Commons, printed in 1803 in the Journals of the House of Commons, page 538
'You shall go to it on to-morrow week, so make haste and get well!'1840, “Melancholy Death of Amelia V”, in The Christian Guardian (and Church of England magazine), page 60:

Obsolete On the next day (following some date in the past).

To prevent this, a committee for peace was proposed for to-morrow, who heard the ministers and Mr. Anderson upon the heads of the affair, but in vain; when their complaint was given in in Synod, and referred to the next Synod […]1717 October 8, Robert Wodrow, in a letter to Mr. James Hart, printed in 1828, Robert Wodrow, The History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland, page xxii
[…] after he hade drunk liberally in the Advocate's house that same day, went to bed in health, but was taken up stark dead to-morrow morning; and such was the testimony of honour heaven was pleased to allow Montrose's pompuous funerals.1817, James Kirkton, The Secret and True History of the Church of Scotland, page 126:

Antonyms: yesterday

tomorrow

noun

The day after the present day.

Tomorrow will be sunny.
'Go home, Nilghai,' said Dick; 'go home to your lonely little bed, and leave me in peace. I am about to turn in till to-morrow.'1891 January, Rudyard Kipling, chapter IV, in The Light that Failed, London; New York, N.Y.: Macmillan and Co., published March 1891, →OCLC, page 70:

1 more example

Oh seek, my love, your newer way; / I'll not be left in sorrow. / So long as I have yesterday, / Go take your damned to-morrow!1926, Dorothy Parker, “Godspeed”, in Enough Rope, page 69:

A future period or time.

Live for what tomorrow has to offer, not for what yesterday has taken away.
It’s 1965 and we certainly welcome this new year with hopes that all of our tomorrows will bring happiness.1965, American Flint, volume 55, page 28:

2 more examples

Surgoinsville, Tennessee, hasn’t had a doctor since 1965. That’s when the community’s only doctor died. Day after day, Surgoinsville’s modern medical clinic stands empty, useless. […] Surgoinsville’s clinic faces a lot of empty tomorrows.1978, Alan S. Berger, quoting “The doctor won’t be in today or tomorrow”, The City: Urban Communities and Their Problems, Dubuque, Ia.: Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers, →ISBN, page 359:
Additionally, programs such as our Televised Graduate Engineering Instruction effort, designed to allow engineers in the field to benefit from the latest research at our engineering schools, and the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, which will spur research in high-energy-particle physics, will help Virginia as well as the entire Southeast enter the brave new high-tech world of tomorrow.1991, Charles S[pittal] Robb, “The Age of Limits: Its Challenges and Opportunities”, in Robert D. Behn, editor, Governors on Governing, University Press of America, →ISBN, page 10:

Synonyms: morrow
Antonyms: yesterday
Derived terms: 30 terms
are you doing anything tomorrow, as if there is no tomorrow, as if there's no tomorrow, as if there was no tomorrow, as if there were no tomorrow, better an egg today than a hen tomorrow, day after tomorrow, jam tomorrow, like there is no tomorrow, like there's no tomorrow, like there was no tomorrow, like there were no tomorrow, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, next tomorrow, you tomorrow, sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow, sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow morning, sure as the sun is going to rise tomorrow, sure as the sun is going to rise tomorrow morning, tomorrow is another day, tomorrowish, tomorrowless, tomorrow never comes, tomorrow night, tomorrow's chip paper, tomoz, two days after tomorrow, yesterday-today-and-tomorrow, yesterday-today-tomorrow, yestermorrow
Related terms: last night, nudiustertian, overmorrow, today, tonight, yesterday, tomorrower, tomorrowness