now

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See also NOW, and nów

Contents

English [edit]

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Etymology [edit]

From Middle English now, nou, nu, from Old English nū (“now, at present, at this time, immediately, very recently”), from Proto-Germanic *nu (“now”), from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”). Cognate with Scots noo (“now”), Saterland Frisian nu (“now”), West Frisian no (“now”), Dutch nu, nou (“now”), German nu, nun (“now”), Swedish nu (“now”), Icelandic nú (“now”), Latin num (“even now, whether”), Latin nunc (“now”), Albanian ni (“now”), Lithuanian nù (“now”), Avestan  (nū, “now”), Sanskrit  (nu, nū, “now”).

Pronunciation [edit]

Adjective [edit]

now (not comparable)

  1. Present; current.
    • Glanvill
      Our now happiness.
    • 1855, Conrad Swackhamer, The United States democratic review, Volume 5‎,
      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.
    • 1908, The English reports,
      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, ...
    • 2010 March 17, The Telegraph, news website, Radio 4 apologises for day old shipping forecast,
      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."
  2. (archaic, law) At the time the will is written. Used in order to prevent any inheritance from being transferred to a person of a future marriage. Does not indicate the existence of a previous marriage.
    Now wife.
  3. (informal) Fashionable; popular; up to date; current.
    I think this band's sound is very now.

See also [edit]

Adverb [edit]

now (not comparable)

  1. At the present time.
    Now I am six.
  2. (sentence) Used to introduce a point, a remonstration or a rebuke.
    Now, we all want what is best for our children.
    Now, stop that Jimmy!
  3. Differently from the immediate past; differently from a more remote past or a possible future; differently from all other times.
    Now I am ready.
    We all now want iPods for our children.
    We all want what is now best for our children.
  4. Differently from the situation before a (stated or implied) event or change of circumstance.
    Now my whole life is different.
    Now all the children have grown up and left, the house is very quiet.
  5. At the time reached within a narration.
    Now, he remembered why he had come.
    He now asked her whether she had made pudding.
    The pudding was now ready to be served.
  6. In the context of urgency.
    Now listen, we must do something about this.

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

at the present time
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Conjunction [edit]

now

  1. since, because, in light of the fact.
    We can play football now that the rain has stopped.

Translations [edit]

since, because

Interjection [edit]

now!

  1. Indicates a signal to begin.
    Now! Fire all we've got while the enemy is in reach!

Translations [edit]

signal to begin

Noun [edit]

now (usually uncountable; plural nows)

  1. (uncountable) The present time.
    Now is the right time.
    There is no better time than now.
    1. (often with "the") The state of not paying attention to the future or the past.
      She is living in the now.
    2. (countable, chiefly in phenomenology) A particular instant in time, as perceived at that instant.
      • 1982, Albert Hofstadter, The Basic Problems of Phenomenology, translation of original by Martin Heidegger, page 249:
        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.

Synonyms [edit]

  • (not paying attention to the future or past): here and now

Translations [edit]

the present time

Statistics [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

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