Etymograph

English

occasionally

Occasionally comes from Middle English occasionally.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500occasionally1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1588occasionally1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English occasionally
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1588, Gabriel Harvey, The Fourth Letter. To the Same Favourable or Indifferent Rea: “Were nothing els diſcourſively inſerted (as ſome little elſe…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500occasionallyWiktionary, English occasionally
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1588occasionallyWiktionary, English occasionally. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1588, Gabriel Harvey, The Fourth Letter. To the Same Favourable or Indifferent Rea: “Were nothing els diſcourſively inſerted (as ſome little elſe…”

Every English word from Middle English occasionally

Today it means

adv On occasion: at relatively infrequent intervals, from time to time, sometimes.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “occasionally”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English occasionally / occasionally

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