along

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English andlang, from prefix and- + lang (“long”). Doublet of endlong.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈlɒŋ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈlɔŋ/
• (US with the cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA^(key): /əˈlɑŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒŋ, -ɔŋ
• Hyphenation: a‧long

Preposition

along

1. By the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to.
   • 1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes‎, page 294:

     They were waiting for me in the drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windows reaching down to the floor

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.

   • 2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:

     As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.

2. In a line with, with a progressive motion on; onward on; forward on.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Samuel 1 1-Chapter-6/#2 6:2:

     The kine […] went along the highway.

   • 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion‎, page 266:

     In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.

   • 1892, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Boscombe Valley Mystery”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes‎, page 93:

     Swiftly and silently he made his way along the track which ran through the meadows.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     We tiptoed into the house, up the stairs and along the hall into the room where the Professor had been spending so much of his time.

Synonyms

• alongst (archaic)
• endlong (dialectal)

Descendants

• → Tok Pisin: long

Translations

Adverb

along (not comparable)

1. In company; together.

   John played the piano and everyone sang along.

   • 2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian‎:

     From The Best of You to The Pretender, their own material invariably came equipped with huge choruses designed to be bellowed along to; they covered Another One Bites the Dust and Under Pressure; they gave every impression of being willing to play all night were it not for the curfew.

2. Onward, forward, with progressive action.

   Don't stop here. Just move along.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.

Synonyms

• alongst (archaic)

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Anglo, Anglo-, Golan, Logan, NALGO, anglo, anglo-, logan, long a, longa

Dupaningan Agta

Noun

along

1. son (term of address for a male child)

Indonesian

Etymology 1

From Javanese ꦲꦭꦺꦴꦁ (along), probably from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *aluŋ (“shade, shadow”), from Proto-Austronesian *aluŋ (“shade, shadow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: along

Noun

along (first-person possessive alongku, second-person possessive alongmu, third-person possessive alongnya)

1. abundant catch of fishermen.

Etymology 2

From Borneo Malay , probably cognate of Dupaningan Agta along (“son”) and Indonesian sulung.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: along

Noun

along (first-person possessive alongku, second-person possessive alongmu, third-person possessive alongnya)

1. firstborn child.

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: along

Noun

along (first-person possessive alongku, second-person possessive alongmu, third-person possessive alongnya)

1. Acronym of alat penolong (“rescue equipment”)..

Further reading

• “along” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Karao

Noun

along

1. nosebleed

Maranao

Noun

along

1. shadow

Derived terms

• malongalong