Word of the Week – Again(st)
Time for yet another look at a word so common we probably don’t even think about it. But pause for a second and consider these two: again and against. They look strikingly similar, don’t they? Coincidence?
Far from it.
Again actually traces its roots allllll the way back to Old English, when it could be either a preposition or an adverb and meant “toward; opposite, contrary to”…you know, what we think of as against.
In the 1100s, the variation with that -st ending appeared, but the two variations were used interchangeably. It wasn’t until the 1500s that they began to deviate and be differentiated in most English dialects, but not all. Scottish never did adopt the -st ending so continued to use again in the ways we would use against. Even so, again still retained its earlier meanings for quite a long time.
And that “once more” meaning we think of today? That didn’t join in until the 14th century, which is pretty late in life for the Old English word!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. 
