Reference > American Heritage® > Dictionary
  till1 till3  
CONTENTS · INDEX · ILLUSTRATIONS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
   The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.  2000.
 
till2
 
PRONUNCIATION:  tl
PREPOSITION: Until.
CONJUNCTION: Until.
ETYMOLOGY:Middle English, from Old English til, from Old Norse.
USAGE NOTE: Till and until are generally interchangeable in both writing and speech, though as the first word in a sentence until is usually preferred: Until you get that paper written, don't even think about going to the movies.Till is actually the older word, with until having been formed by the addition to it of the prefix un–, meaning “up to.” In the 18th century the spelling 'till became fashionable, as if till were a shortened form of until. Although 'till is now nonstandard, 'til is sometimes used in this way and is considered acceptable, though it is etymologically incorrect.
 
 
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS · INDEX · ILLUSTRATIONS · BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD
  till1 till3  
 
Google
Click here to shop the Bartleby Bookstore.
Welcome · Press · Advertising · Linking · Terms of Use · © 2008 Bartleby.com