Where does “nowadays” come from?
Nowadays comes from Middle English a- (prefix) combined with Middle English now, derived from Latin ad- (toward) and ultimately Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "away" and "to burn" or "kindle."
nowadays (English): At the present time; in the current era
Definitions
- At the present time; in the current era
Ancestry of “nowadays”, step by step
nowadays traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English adays
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | adays | In the daytime; Nowadays; in the present time... |
| 2 | Middle English | a- | up, out, away; of; on, in |
| 3 | Old English | ā- | a-; away, out |
| 4 | Old English | ar- | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | uʀ- | out, over; off, away |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | uz- | up, out |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | uss- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | uds- | up, out |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | úd | out, outward |