# often

Pronunciation: US say "AW-fuhn" /ˈɔfən/; UK say "OF-uhn" /ˈɒfən/

## Adverb

1. On many occasions; happening repeatedly at different times.
   - Simple: Many times, again and again.
   - _Trains on this line are often delayed during the morning rush._
   - _He often works late to finish his most important projects._

## Adjective

2. Occurring or recurring frequently; happening many times over. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Happening many times, again and again.

## Origin

From Middle English 'often', an altered form of 'ofte' or 'oft' (the final -n was added by analogy with 'selden', meaning 'seldom'). This came from Old English 'oft' and ultimately from Proto-Germanic, and is related to German 'oft' and Swedish 'ofta'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/often (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).