Etymology

always

al·ways
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Today it means: At all times; throughout all time; since the beginning. Full definition →

Middle English alweyes ← Old English ealneġ ← Proto-West Germanic *weg
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂elnós
  3. Proto-Germanic*allaz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*all
  5. Old Englisheall
  6. Proto-Indo-European*weǵʰ-
  7. Proto-Germanic*wegaz
  8. Proto-West Germanic*weg
  9. Old Englishweġ
  10. Old Englishealneġ
  11. Middle Englishalwey
  12. Middle Englishalweyes
  13. English todayalways

From Middle English alweyes, alwayes, alweys, a variant of Middle English alwey, alway (“always”), from Old English ealneġ, ealne weġ (“always, perpetually”, literally “all the way, all the while, continuously”), from ealne + weġ (accusative case), equivalent to alway + -s. Cognate with Scots always (“always”), Low German allerwegens (“very often”, literally “all ways'”). More at all, way.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.