Alwey

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. An archaic spelling meaning at all times, on every occasion, or without exception, as used in older English texts
2. Archaic form meaning continually or throughout all time, referring to something that happens or holds on every occasion
3. Old variant meaning at every moment or in every case, found in earlier English writing to express constant duration

Etymology: Before it meant "at all times," this word described distance. It comes from Old English "ealne weg," literally "all the way," where "eal" means "all" and "weg" means "way" or "road." Someone who kept going the whole length of a journey was going "all the way," and that spatial sense gradually turned into a sense of duration. Middle English writers spelled it in many ways, and "alwey" was one of them. Over time, the temporal sense took over, so that "alwey" came to mean "without exception" or "continually." The modern "always" carries the same idea, with the older journey metaphor no longer visible in the spelling.