again

again
again (adv.) late O.E. agan, from earlier ongean "toward, opposite, against, in exchange for," from on "on" (see ON (Cf. on)) + -gegn "against, toward," compounded for a sense of "lined up facing, opposite," and "in the opposite direction, returning." For -gegn, Cf. O.N. gegn "straight, direct," Dan. igen "against," O.Fris. jen, O.H.G. gegin, Ger. gegen "against, toward," Ger. entgegen "against, in opposition to."
In Old English, eft was the main word for "again" (see EFTSOONS (Cf. eftsoons)), but this often was strengthened by ongean, which became the principal word by 13c. Norse influence is responsible for the hard -g-. Differentiated from AGAINST (Cf. against) 16c. in southern writers, again becoming an adverb only, and against taking over as preposition and conjunction, but again clung to all senses in northern and Scottish dialect (where against was not adopted).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Again — A*gain (?; 277), adv. [OE. agein, agayn, AS. ongegn, onge[ a]n, against, again; on + ge[ a]n, akin to Ger. gegewn against, Icel. gegn. Cf. {Gainsay}.] 1. In return, back; as, bring us word again. [1913 Webster] 2. Another time; once more; anew.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Again — is the title of the following songs or albums: * Again (1949 song), recorded by many singers including Doris Day, Vic Damone and Vera Lynn * Again (1993 album), by Alan Stivell * Again (Alice in Chains song), by Alice in Chains * Again (2002… …   Wikipedia

  • again — [ə gen′; ] also, esp. Cdn & Brit [, əgān′] adv. [ME agen, ayein < OE ongegn, ongean < on , up to, toward + gegn, direct: orig. separable prefix meaning “directly up to,” hence, “facing, opposite”] 1. Rare back in response; in return [answer …   English World dictionary

  • Again — Single par Yui Sakakibara Face A Again Face B Beautiful day Sortie 25 octobre 2006 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • +Again — Manhwa Auteur Ko Jin Ho Éditeur Samyang Publishing …   Wikipédia en Français

  • again — [adv1] another time; repeated afresh, anew, anon, bis, come again, encore, freshly, newly, once more, one more time, over, over and over, recurrently, reiteratively, repeatedly; concepts 553,799 again [adv2] in addition additionally, also,… …   New thesaurus

  • Again — A*gain , Agains A*gains , prep. Against; also, towards (in order to meet). [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Albeit that it is again his kind. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • again — index anew, de novo Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • again — ► ADVERB 1) once more. 2) returning to a previous position or condition. 3) in addition to what has already been mentioned. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • again — a|gain W1S1 [əˈgen, əˈgeın US əˈgen] adv [: Old English; Origin: ongean opposite, back ] 1.) one more time used when something has happened or been done before ▪ Can you say that again? I didn t hear. ▪ I ll never go there again. ▪ Mr Khan s busy …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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