Literally 'allways' — every path, every direction — a spatial metaphor for temporal totality.
Definition
At all times; on every occasion; forever.
The Full Story
Proto-Indo-Europeanbefore 1100 CEwell-attested
From Proto-Indo-European *h2el- ("all, complete") + *wegh- ("to carry, to travel, way, path"), through OldEnglish ealne weg ("all the way, all the time"), which contracted into Middle English alweis and then Modern English always. Thefirstelement ealne is the accusative of eal ("all"), from PIE *h2el-. The second element weg ("way, path") descends from Proto-Germanic *wegaz (PIE *wegh-, to carry, travel). The phrase ealne weg literally meant "all the way" — a spatial metaphor that shifted to temporal
. The semantic path mirrors similar constructions: French toujours ("always") from tous les jours ("every day"). The temporal-from-spatial metaphor — a path you travel forever — is a universal cognitive pattern found across PIE daughter languages. Key roots: eall (Old English: "all, whole, entire"), weg (Old English: "way, path, road").