c. 1300, compound of all + ready (adj.); literally "fully ready." Compare Norwegian, Danish allerede "already." Colloquial use in U.S. as a terminal emphatic (as in enough, already!) is attested from 1903, translating Yiddish shoyn, which is used in same sense. The pattern also is attested in Pennsylvania German and in South African.
双语例句
1. He was already asleep in the bed, which smelled faintly of mildew.
他已经在略带霉味的床上睡着了。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The material consisted only of already published, unclassified information.
这份材料里只有一些已公开的、非保密性质的信息。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The country's politicians are already heaving a collective sigh of relief.
该国的政界人士均已松了口气。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The scientists have already experimented at each other's test sites.
