English
oft
Oft comes from Old English oft ‘often’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *uftō.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*uftō1‘often’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*oftu1reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150oft1‘often’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500oft1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1604–1605oft1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English oft
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1604–1605, William Shakespeare, All’s Well, that Ends Well: “What I can do, can do no hurt to…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*uftōWiktionary, English oft‘often’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*oftuWiktionary, English oftreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150oftWiktionary, English oft‘often’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500oftWiktionary, English oft
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1604–1605oftWiktionary, English oft. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1604–1605, William Shakespeare, All’s Well, that Ends Well: “What I can do, can do no hurt to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘up’
suggest, sub, sum, suspicion, upwards, hypo, subaltern, 8 more
through Proto-Germanic *ub ‘under’
Today it means
adv often; frequently; not rarely
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “oft”. 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 / Proto-Germanic *uftō / oft