c. 1300, compound of all + ready (adj.); literally "fully ready." Compare Norwegian, Danish allerede "already." Colloquial use in U.S. as a terminal emphatic (as in enough, already!) is attested from 1903, translating Yiddish shoyn, which is used in same sense. The pattern also is attested in Pennsylvania German and in South African.
雙語例句
1. He was already asleep in the bed, which smelled faintly of mildew.
他已經在略帶霉味的床上睡著了。
來自柯林斯例句
2. The material consisted only of already published, unclassified information.
這份材料里只有一些已公開的、非保密性質的信息。
來自柯林斯例句
3. The country's politicians are already heaving a collective sigh of relief.
該國的政界人士均已松了口氣。
來自柯林斯例句
4. The scientists have already experimented at each other's test sites.