Oft

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ɔft/

Definitions

1. Occurring many times; frequently or repeatedly
2. Happening on numerous occasions
3. commonly found in various instances or circumstances

Etymology: "Oft" is the older, shorter form of "often," and the two words are the same word worn down in different ways. Old English had "oft" meaning "often" already, and it passed into Middle English in the same sense, appearing alongside "ofte" before "often" took over as the standard form. The "-en" ending in modern "often" is a later addition, so the modern word is effectively "oft" with an extra syllable tacked on. The word's ancestry reaches back to Proto-Germanic "uftō," meaning "often," and it has close relatives across the continent. German has "oft," Dutch has "oft," and West Frisian has "oft" and "ofte," all with the same meaning. That shared family shows how old and widespread this sense of frequency is in the Germanic languages.

Synonyms: frequently, often, regularly, repeatedly, habitually

Antonyms: rarely, seldom, infrequently, occasionally, scarcely