this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2023
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Etymology

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This magazine is for discussions and articles about the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.

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The word "alone" comes from a compound of "all" + "one" (self.Etymology)
submitted 1 year ago by Savirius to c/[email protected]
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Yep! Surprising but true!

Alone is first attested as Middle English allone, and earlier as two words, all oon.

Lone comes from a later shortening of alone (Apheresis is the technical term).

Alone and one don't rhyme anymore because of the irregular change from /oːn/ to /wʊn/ in Late Middle to Early Modern English. See also only, which comes from one + -ly.

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