now
Part of speech: adj
adv
conj
intj
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English nou, nu, from Old English nū, from Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu (“now”), from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”). Doublet of nu ("well?").
Cognates
Cognate with Scots noo, nou, now (“now”), Yola neow, now, nowe (“now”), North Frisian nü (“now”), West Frisian no (“now”), Dutch nu, nou (“now”), German nu, nun (“now”), Limburgish noe, Nuu (“now”), Danish and Swedish nu (“now”), Elfdalian nų (“now”), Faroese nú, núgv (“now”), Icelandic nú, núna (“now”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk no, nu, nå (“now”), Gothic 𐌽𐌿 (nu, “now”); also Gaulish nu (“now”), Latin num (“now”), Greek νυν (nyn, “currently, now”), Albanian ni, tani (“now”), Bulgarian ни́не (níne, “currently, now”), Czech nyní (“now”), Old Polish ninie (“now”), Russian но́не (nóne), ны́не (nýne, “now, today”), Ukrainian ни́ні (nýni, “nowadays; today”), Avestan 𐬥𐬏 (nū, “currently, now”), Baluchi نون (nún, “now”), Persian اکنون (aknun / aknūn), کنون (konun), نون (nun / nūn, “now”), Northern Kurdish ana, anaka, anêka, aniha, anika, naga, naha, naka, niha, niho, nika, noke, ئانا (ana), نکا (nka, “now”), Ossetian ныр (nyr, “now”), Hittite 𒆠𒉡𒌦 (ki-nu-un, “now”), Luwian 𒈾𒀀𒉡𒌦 (nānun, “now”), Tocharian A nuṃ (“again, once more”), Tocharian B nano (“again, once more”), Sanskrit नु (nu, “now”).
Inflected forms:
form: noo
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Geordie
Scotland
dialectal
form: noo
pos: adv
tags: alternative
Geordie
Scotland
dialectal
form: noo
pos: conj
tags: alternative
Geordie
Scotland
dialectal
form: now!
pos: intj
tags: canonical
form: noo
pos: intj
tags: alternative
Geordie
Scotland
dialectal
form: nows
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: noo
pos: noun
tags: alternative
Geordie
Scotland
dialectal
Senses:
gloss: Present; current.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: […] to my now wife Mabell, my child Elisabeth, & my child now begotten, &c., and they to be joint Exõrs, & if all die, then the same jointly to my brother William Every & my sisters Sarah Skibbowe & Joan Brice.
Defects seem as necessary to our now happiness as their Opposites.
The history of the infant colonies teaches us that the country comprised within the limits of the now United States of America was originally patented in the reign of James I., of England, into two portions: that in less than eighty years from that period, the same was again divided into twelve distinct provinces; a thirteenth being after added in the creation of the State of Georgia.
Where in assumpsit for money lent, the defendant pleaded that in an action in which the now defendant was plaintiff, and the now plaintiff was defendant,[…].
Radio 4's continuity announcer said at the end of the show: "As many of you will have noticed, that edition of The Now Show wasn't very now. It was actually last week's programme. Our apologies for that."
For example, the organization has groundlessly denounced Elon Musk, a powerful libertarian voice, as an antisemite in a baldfaced effort to drain his social network, X, of advertising revenue. Yet, when now-Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) came to the defense of his uncle for antisemitic remarks he made in the ’90s, the organization refused to condemn him.
gloss: Fashionable; popular; up to date; current.
pos: adj
tags: informal
not-comparable
examples: I think this band's sound is very now.
ADAM: I was just thinking, I... (sees the lyre) Hey, brother, do you play? Is it Vulcan? Can I try it? // (Spock gestures his permission and Adam strums a chord) // ADAM: Ho ho, that's now! That's real now! I reach that, brother. I really do. // (He hands the lyre to Spock who plays it briefly)
Bernard: What does it do?
Fran: It's very in.
Bernard: You don't know what it is, do you?
Fran: It's very now.
gloss: At the present time.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: Now I am six.
Stop that now, Jimmy!
I could have been Secretary of State now if I hadn’t left politics five years ago.
We can’t phone now – they will certainly have gone to bed.
gloss: Used to introduce a point, a qualification of what has previously been said, a remonstration or a rebuke.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: Now, we all want what is best for our children.
Now, Jimmy, stop that.
Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.
“I don’t stare at her,” Steve insisted quickly. “It’s just that every once in a while she is looking at me when I look out the window.” / “A peeping Thomasina.” / “Now, Harry.” / “Well, it’s her name. Elizabeth Thomas.”
gloss: Differently from the immediate past; differently from a more remote past or a possible future; differently from all other times.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: Now I am ready.
We all now want the latest toys for our children.
We all want what is now best for our children.
Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.
gloss: At the time reached within a narration.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: Now he remembered why he had come.
He now asked her whether she had made pudding.
The pudding was now ready to be served.
gloss: Used to indicate a context of urgency.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: Now listen, we must do something about this.
gloss: At the present point of a recurring cycle or event.
pos: adv
tags: informal
not-comparable
examples: I always used to do my shopping now, to avoid the rush.
gloss: Very recently; not long ago; up to the present.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
obsolete
examples: They that but now, for honour and for plate, / Made the sea blush with blood, resign their hate.
gloss: Used to address a switching side, or sharp change in attitude from before.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: Now, you want to protect me. An hour ago, you were mercilessly bullying me!
gloss: Sometimes; occasionally; used to list a series of often assumed states.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: His face fit his roles: now smiling, now earnest, now glowering, now raging.
And then they stood about, as soldiers do; now, with their hands loosely clasped before them; now, resting a knee or a shoulder; now, easing a belt or a pouch; now, opening the door to spit stiffly over their high stocks, out into the yard.
gloss: Since, because, in light of the fact.
pos: conj
tags: often
examples: Now all the children have grown up and left, the house is very quiet.
Now that my sister has gotten rid of their cat, we can go to her house this coming Thanksgiving.
We can play football now that the rain has stopped.
Now that you mention it, I am kind of hungry.
Now that we're all here, let's start the meeting.
gloss: Indicates a signal to begin.
pos: intj
examples: Now! Fire all we've got while the enemy is in reach!
gloss: The present time.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
usually
examples: Now is the right time.
There is no better time than now.
gloss: The state of not paying attention to the future or the past.
pos: noun
tags: often
uncountable
usually
examples: She is living in the now.
gloss: A particular instant in time, as perceived at that instant.
pos: noun
tags: countable
usually
examples: Forever is composed of Nows— / 'T is not a different time, / Except for infiniteness / And latitude of home.
Time is not thrust together and summed up out of nows, but the reverse: with reference to the now we can articulate the stretching out of time always only in specific ways.
Related words: happening
Derived words: 3DNow!
all together now
any day now
any minute now
any moment now
any time now
anytime now
as of now
benow
by now
don't look now
even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then
every now and again
every now and then
for now
now on
good now
how now
in the here and now
just now
now-a-days
nowadays
now a days
now-adays
now and again
now and then
nowcast
nowcasting
nowdoc
now for
now hear this
nowish
now I've heard everything
now I've seen everything
nowness
now-now
now now
now, now
now-nowism
now-or-never
now or never
nowstalgia
now that
now that's what I call
now that you mention it
now then
now there's a thought
now we're talking
now what
now you mention it
now you're cooking
now you're talking
now you tell me
real soon now
right now
speak now or forever hold your peace
ta-ta for now
ta ta for now
tata for now
that was then
this is now
that was then and this is now
that was then, this is now
the future is now
then and now
then-and-now
there now
up to now
what now
eternal now
Translations:
lang: Finnish
word: nyt
lang: Japanese
word: 今や
roman: imaya
lang: Kyrgyz
word: эми
roman: emi
lang: Russian
word: теперь
roman: teperʹ