oft
[awft, oft]
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Origin of oft
before 900; Middle English oft(e), Old English oft; cognate with Old Frisian ofta, Old Saxon oft(o), German oft, Old Norse opt
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for oft
Contemporary Examples
The evolution of style is oft studied but rarely understood in any comprehensive manner.
The conforms of systemic racism have caused a precious grasping of your blackness that oft times seeks to destroy us.
"Mercy is not itself, that oft looks so; Pardon is still the nurse of second woe," after all.
In the past, Obama has been oft criticized for weak bargaining.
Historical Examples
The happiest of us has been weary of her many a time and oft.
The Hall of Fantasy (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")Nathaniel Hawthorne
His oft quoted maxim was, "It is better to wear out than to rust out."
Cleveland Past and PresentMaurice Joblin
And many a time and oft it do be coming and us not thinking of it.
A Singer from the SeaAmelia Edith Huddleston Barr
Many a time and oft he has let me go to St. Penfer when it was raining and blowing.
A Singer from the SeaAmelia Edith Huddleston Barr
"I've oft telt thee so," said Mattha, not fearing the character of a Job's comforter.
The Shadow of a CrimeHall Caine
oft
- short for often (archaic or poetic except in combinations such as oft-repeated and oft-recurring)
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Word Origin
Old English oft; related to Old High German ofto
OFT
- Office of Fair Trading
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for oft
adv.
Old English oft "often, frequently," from Proto-Germanic *ofta- "frequently" (cf. Old Frisian ofta, Danish ofte, Old High German ofto, German oft, Old Norse opt, Gothic ufta "often"), of unknown origin. Archaic except in compounds (e.g. oft-told), and replaced by its derivative often.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper