afoot

English

Etymology

From a- +‎ foot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfʊt/
• Rhymes: -ʊt

Adverb

afoot (not comparable)

1. On foot. (means of locomotion, walking)
2. On foot. (support of the body, standing)
3. In motion; in action; astir; stirring; in progress.
   • c. 1599-1601 William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III scene ii^[1]:

     Hamlet: […] I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot, / Even with the very comment of thy soul / Observe mine uncle: […]

   • 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything:

     'Patience,' said Slartibartfast again. 'Great things are afoot.'
     'That's what you said last time we met,' said Arthur.
     'They were,' said Slartibartfast.
     'Yes, that's true,' admitted Arthur.

Translations

means of locomotion, walking

• Catalan: a peu
• Dutch: te voet, lopend (nl)
• Finnish: jalan (fi)
• French: à pied (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: zu Fuß (de)
• Interlingue: ,
• Portuguese: a pé (pt)
• Russian: пешко́м (ru) (peškóm)
• Spanish: a pie (es), andando (es), en curso

support of the body, standing

• Catalan: dempeus (ca)
• French: debout (fr)
• German: auf de Füssen
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: in piedi
• Portuguese: de pé (pt)
• Russian: на ногах (na nogax)
• Spanish: en pie, de pie

in progress

• Arabic: عَلَى قَدَم وَسَاق (ʕalā qadam wasāq)
• Catalan: en curs
• Dutch: op til, op komst
• French: en cours (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: ar bun
• Russian: в движении (v dviženii)
• Spanish: en marcha (es), en curso

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• (deprecated template usage) Bulgarian: пеша, на крак
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Adjective

afoot (not comparable)

1. (predicative) That is on foot, in motion, in action, in progress.
   • 2011, Maile Chapman, Your Presence Is Requested at Suvanto: A Novel

     Sunny moves through these final days quickly, easily, buoyed by routine even though change is afoot in all directions.

   • 2019 October, James Abbott, “Esk Valley revival”, in Modern Railways, page 76:

     Now there are plans afoot to introduce a couple of extra trains to the timetable in December, with the long-term goal of a doubling of the service to eight trains a day.

References

• “afoot”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• oofta