alone

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

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Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Adjective 1.4 Adverb 1.4.1 Synonyms 1.4.2 Usage notes 1.4.3 Derived terms 1.4.4 Translations 1.5 Anagrams 2 Italian 2.1 Etymology 2.2 Noun

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Contracted from Old English all (“‘all’”) and ana, from an (“‘one’”).

[edit] Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /əˈləʊn/, SAMPA: /@"l@Un/
• (GenAm) IPA: /əˈloʊn/, SAMPA: /@"loUn/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Rhymes: -əʊn

• Hyphenation: a‧lone

[edit] Adjective

alone (comparative more alone, superlative most alone)

1. By one's self; apart from, or exclusive of, others; single; solo; solitary;—applied to a person or thing.
   • I can't ask for help because I am alone. That is, “I am alone” means nobody else is near.

[edit] Adverb

alone (not comparable)

1. By one's self; apart from, or exclusive of, others; solo

   She walked home alone.

2. Without outside help; singlehandedly
   • The job was to hard for me to do alone.
3. Of or by itself; by themselves; without any thing more or any one else; without a sharer; only.
   • Man shall not live by bread alone. —Luke iv. 4. Here, “bread alone” means bread and nothing else.
4. Unique; without peer or equal:
   • Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare. -- Edna St. Vincent Millay

[edit] Synonyms

• (by oneself): lone, lonely, single, solitary, solo
• (without outside help): singlehandedly, by myself
• (only): only, exclusively

[edit] Usage notes

• For what reason are the English words one and once pronounced so, while other words derived from one, like alone, only and atone, pronounced with a long o? Stressed vowels often became diphthongs over time (Latin bona → Italian buona and Spanish buena). A similar thing happened in the late Middle Ages to the English words one and once, first recorded circa 1400. The vowel sound underwent some changes, such as the pronunciation (from ōn → ōōōn → wōn → wōōn → wŏŏn → wŭn).
• Unlike most focusing adverbs, alone typically appears after a noun phrase.

• Only the teacher knew vs. The teacher alone knew

[edit] Derived terms

• all alone

[edit] Translations

[edit] Anagrams

• Alphagram: aelno
• anole
• Leona

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[edit] Italian

[edit] Etymology

Latin halo

[edit] Noun

alone m. (plural aloni)

1. halo
2. glow