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Tomorrow

2 stages from Old English to English.

Today it means on the day after today; the future

Where does the word "tomorrow" come from? It comes from Old English tō morgenne, adopted directly into English (1300s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
tō morgenne
Old English · medieval
"in the morning; on the next day"
'at (the) morning', using morgen 'morning'
2
Stage 2 of 2
tomorrow
English · 1300s
"the day after today"
written 'to-morrow' with a hyphen into the early 1900s; Macbeth's speech 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow' dates from about 1606
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Tomorrow’s story begins in Old English: tō morgenne meant “in the morning; on the next day.” 'at (the) morning', using morgen 'morning'. It reached English by 1300s as tomorrow. Written 'to-morrow' with a hyphen into the early 1900s; Macbeth's speech 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow' dates from about 1606. Today, tomorrow means on the day after today; the future.