Etymology

altogether

A1L1T1O1G2E1T1H4E1R1

Today it means: Completely, wholly, or without exception. Full definition →

Middle English altogeder
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromaltogeder
  2. English todayaltogether

From Middle English altogeder, altogedere, equivalent to al- (“all”) + together. Cognate with Scots awthegither (“altogether”), Middle High German alzegater (“altogether”), Dutch altegaar. Compare also Old English ealġeador, eallġeador (“altogether”), West Frisian allegearre (“altogether”). More at together. The noun sense (nakedness): was popularized in George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.