As

How to spell as

2 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce as

What does as mean?

1. conjunctionUsed to mean 'because', 'while', or 'in the way that', linking two clauses.
2. prepositionUsed to indicate the role, function, or capacity in which someone or something acts.
3. adverbUsed in comparisons to express degree, often in the pattern 'as... as'.

As in a sentence

• conjunction

  As the deadline approached, the whole team stayed late.

• preposition

  He worked as a consultant for several large banks.

• adverb

  The new model is just as fast, according to the reviews.

• conjunction

  She filed the report as her manager had requested.

• preposition

  She used the spare room as a home office.

• adverb

  The journey turned out to be twice as long, which surprised everyone.

Where does as come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This tiny word has a surprisingly long pedigree, beginning in Old English as eallswa, a compound of eal meaning 'all' and swa meaning 'so', which together meant something like 'all so' or 'quite so'. Over centuries of constant everyday use the phrase was eroded down through forms like alswa and als until only the bare 'as' remained, a classic example of how the most frequent words wear away fastest. The very same starting point also gave English the separate word 'also', which kept more of its original shape. Because 'as' lost so much of its body, it now does heavy grammatical duty as a conjunction, a preposition, and an adverb all at once. The spelling is mercifully simple, a relic of a much longer ancestor now reduced to two letters.

How the word is built

• Single unanalysable particle; a worn-down form of Old English eallswa (eal 'all'
• swa 'so')