afford
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English afforthen, aforthen, avorthien, from earlier iforthen, iforthien, ȝeforthien, from Old English forþian, ġeforþian (“to further, accomplish, afford”), from Proto-Germanic *furþōną, from Proto-Germanic *furþa (“forth, forward”), equivalent to a- + forth. Cognate with Old Norse forða (“to forward oneself, save oneself, escape danger”), Icelandic forða (“to save, rescue”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American) enPR: ə-fōrdʹ, IPA(key): /əˈfoɹd/, /əˈfɔɹd/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈfɔːd/
- (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /əˈfo(ː)ɹd/
- (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /əˈfoəd/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)d
Verb[edit]
afford (third-person singular simple present affords, present participle affording, simple past and past participle afforded)
- To incur, stand, or bear without serious detriment, as an act which might under other circumstances be injurious;—with an auxiliary, as can, could, might, etc.; to be able or rich enough.
- I think we can afford the extra hour it will take. We can only afford to buy a small car at the moment.
- 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314, page 0088:
- “[…] We are engaged in a great work, a treatise on our river fortifications, perhaps? But since when did army officers afford the luxury of amanuenses in this simple republic? […]”
- To offer, provide, or supply, as in selling, granting, expending, with profit, or without loss or too great injury.
- A affords his goods cheaper than B.
- To give forth; to supply, yield, or produce as the natural result, fruit, or issue.
- Grapes afford wine. Olives afford oil. The earth affords fruit. The sea affords an abundant supply of fish.
- To give, grant, or confer, with a remoter reference to its being the natural result; to provide; to furnish.
- A good life affords consolation in old age.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
- One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.
- 2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):
- Writing a “Treehouse of Horror” segment has to be both exhilarating and daunting. It’s exhilarating because it affords writers all the freedom in the world.
Usage notes[edit]
- Sense 1. This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to incur, stand, or bear
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to offer, provide, or supply
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to give forth; to produce as a natural result
to provide; furnish
- 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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English words prefixed with a-
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English catenative verbs
