upon

English

Alternative forms

• uppon, vpon, vppon (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English upon, uppon, uppen, from Old English upon, uppon, uppan (“on, upon, up to, against, after, in addition to”), equivalent to up (“adverb”) +‎ on (“preposition”). Cognate with Icelandic upp á, upp á (“up on, upon”), Swedish uppå (“up on, upon”) (thence Swedish på), Danish på (“up on, upon”), Norwegian på (“up on, upon”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈpɒn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈpɑn/, /əˈpɔn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: up‧on
• Rhymes: -ɒn

Preposition

upon

1. Physically above and in contact with.

   Place the book upon the table.

   • 1899, Hughes Mearns, Antigonish:

     Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish, I wish he’d go away …

2. Physically directly supported by.

   The crew set sail upon the sea.

   She balanced upon one foot.

3. Being followed by another so as to form a series.

   hours upon hours, years upon years, mile upon mile of desert

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     No news of them? Why, so: and I know not what's spend in the search: why thou loss upon loss! the thief gone with so much, and so much to find the thief; and no satisfaction, no revenge: nor no ill luck stirring but what lights on my shoulders; no sighs but of my breathing; no tears but of my shedding.

4. At (a prescribed point in time).

   The contract was rendered void upon his death.

5. Imminent unto.
   • 2023, Patricia Taxxon (lyrics and music), “DEDGDEDCEGEOGCGHCOCTOHOTHTHT”, in TECHDOG:

     The drums play on
     The year of the dog is upon us.

6. On.
   • 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:

     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.

   • 1914, Louis Joseph Vance, chapter I, in Nobody, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 1915, →OCLC:

     Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence.

Usage notes

A somewhat elevated word, upon is common in poetic or legal contexts, but the simpler, more general term on is generally interchangeable, and more common in casual American speech.

Synonyms

• (all senses): on
• (time): at

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Puno

Bikol Central

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: u‧pon
• IPA^(key): /ʔuˈpon/,

Noun

upón

1. wild boar

   Synonym: baboy

See also

Middle English

Alternative forms

• vpon, uppon, uppen, upan, apan

Etymology

From Old English upon, uppon, uppan (“on, upon, up to, against, after, in addition to”), equivalent to up +‎ on.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /uˈpɔn/

Preposition

upon

1. upon
   • 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, pages 40–41:

     And I seide, “Ser, in his tyme maister Ioon Wiclef was holden of ful many men the grettis clerk that thei knewen lyuynge vpon erthe. And therwith he was named, as I gesse worthili, a passing reuli man and an innocent in al his lyuynge. And herfore grete men of kunnynge and other also drowen myche to him, and comownede ofte with him. And thei sauouriden so his loore that thei wroten it bisili and enforsiden hem to rulen hem theraftir… Maister Ion Aston taughte and wroot acordingli and ful bisili, where and whanne and to whom he myghte, and he vsid it himsilf, I gesse, right perfyghtli vnto his lyues eende. Also Filip of Repintoun whilis he was a chanoun of Leycetre, Nycol Herforde, dane Geffrey of Pikeringe, monke of Biland and a maistir dyuynyte, and Ioon Purueye, and manye other whiche weren holden rightwise men and prudent, taughten and wroten bisili this forseide lore of Wiclef, and conformeden hem therto. And with alle these men I was ofte homli and I comownede with hem long tyme and fele, and so bifore alle othir men I chees wilfulli to be enformed bi hem and of hem, and speciali of Wiclef himsilf, as of the moost vertuous and goodlich wise man that I herde of owhere either knew. And herfore of Wicleef speciali and of these men I toke the lore whiche I haue taughte and purpose to lyue aftir, if God wole, to my lyues ende.”

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Adverb

upon

1. upon

Descendants

• English: upon
• Yola: apan, apaa, apa, upan, upa, pa

References

• “upon, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “upon, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.