Although

How to spell although

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce although

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does although mean?

1. conjunctionIn spite of the fact that; used to introduce a clause that contrasts with the main statement.

Although in a sentence

• Although the report was late, the client accepted it without complaint.

• She took the morning train, although the evening service was cheaper.

Where does although come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Although is a compound formed in Middle English by joining 'all' to 'though', and the 'all' element worked as an intensifier rather than meaning literally 'all'. The second part, 'though', descends from the Old English 'theah', meaning 'however' or 'yet', which itself goes back to a shared Germanic root also seen in Old Norse 'tho' and modern German 'doch'. The two pieces were originally written as separate words, 'al though', before fusing into the single word we use today during the later medieval period. The spelling trap lives in that fusion: writers naturally expect the doubled 'l' of 'all', yet the compound keeps only a single 'l', giving 'although'. The same single-l reduction appears in its relatives 'also' and 'always', which were built the very same way.

How the word is built

• al- (intensive, from all)
• though (concessive conjunction, from Old English theah)