Etymograph

English

until

Until comes from Middle English vntil.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vntil1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1590until1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English until
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto XI: “He rousd himselfe full blith, and hastned them untill.”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vntilWiktionary, English until
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1590untilWiktionary, English until. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto XI: “He rousd himselfe full blith, and hastned them untill.”

The story

From Middle English vntil, until, untill, ontil, ontill, perhaps representing a northern variant of Middle English unto (see Modern English unto).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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Today it means

prep Up to the time of (something happening); pending.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “until”. 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 vntil / until