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Webster 1913 Edition

Soon

Soon

(soōn)
,
adv.
[OE.
sone
, AS.
sōna
; cf. OFries.
sōn
, OS.
sāna
,
sāno
, OHG.
sār
, Goth.
suns
.]
1.
In a short time; shortly after any time specified or supposed;
as,
soon
after sunrise
.
“Sooner said than done.”
Old Proverb.
“As soon as it might be.”
Chaucer.
She finished, and the subtle fiend his lore
Soon
learned.
Milton.
2.
Without the usual delay; before any time supposed; early.
How is it that ye are come so
soon
to-day?
Ex. ii. 18.
3.
Promptly; quickly; easily.
Small lights are
soon
blown out, huge fires abide.
Shakespeare
4.
Readily; willingly; – in this sense used with would, or some other word expressing will.
I would as
soon
see a river winding through woods or in meadows, as when it is tossed up in so many whimsical figures at Versailles.
Addison.
As soon as
, or
So soon as
,
immediately at or after another event.
“As soon as he came nigh unto the camp . . . he saw the calf, and the dancing.”
Ex. xxxii. 19.
See
So . . . as
, under
So
. –
Soon at
,
as soon as; or, as soon as the time referred to arrives.
[Obs.]
“I shall be sent for soon at night.”
Shak.
–
Sooner or later
,
at some uncertain time in the future;
as, he will discover his mistake
sooner or later
.
–
With the soonest
,
as soon as any; among the earliest; too soon.
[Obs.]
Holland.

Soon

,
Adj.
Speedy; quick.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Soon

SOON

,
adv.
1.
In a short time; shortly after any time specified or supposed; as soon after sunrise; soon after dinner; I shall soon return; we shall soon have clear weather.
2.
Early; without the usual delay; before any time supposed. How is it that ye have come so soon to-day? Ex. 2.
3.
Readily; willingly. But in this sense it accompanies would, or some other word expressing will. I would as soon see a river winding among woods or in meadows, as when it is tossed up in so many whimsical figures at Versailles.

Definition 2024

soon

soon

See also: sōon, so-on, and ŝo-on

English

Adjective

soon ‎(comparative sooner, superlative soonest)

  1. Occurring within a short time, or quickly.
    • 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the Strings:
      Soon after the arrival of Mrs. Campbell, dinner was announced by Abboye. He came into the drawing room resplendent in his gold-and-white turban. […] His cummerbund matched the turban in gold lines.

Adverb

soon ‎(comparative sooner, superlative soonest)

  1. (obsolete) Immediately, instantly.
  2. Within a short time; quickly.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […] , down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.
    • 2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884:
      Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese […] began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated. The poisoning was irreversible, and soon ended in psychosis and death.
  3. Early.
    • Bible, Exodus ii. 18
      How is it that ye are come so soon to-day?
  4. Readily; willingly; used with would, or some other word expressing will.
    • Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
      I would as soon see a river winding through woods or in meadows, as when it is tossed up in so many whimsical figures at Versailles.

Derived terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: something · gave · asked · #215: soon · almost · thou · full

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *sooni, from Proto-Uralic *sëne. Cognates include with Finnish suoni, Hungarian ín ‎(“sinew”).

Noun

soon ‎(genitive soone, partitive soont)

  1. sinew

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Wolof

Etymology

From French jaune.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sɔːn/

Verb

soon

  1. to be yellow

Etymology

From Middle English soone, sone, from Old English sōna ‎(“immediately, at once”), from Proto-Germanic *sēna, *sēnô ‎(“immediately, soon, then”), from Proto-Germanic *sa ‎(demonstrative pronoun), from Proto-Indo-European *só ‎(demonstrative pronoun). Cognate with Scots sone, sune, schone ‎(“soon, quickly, at once”), North Frisian san ‎(“immediately, at once”), Dutch dialectal zaan ‎(“soon, before long”), Middle Low German sān ‎(“right afterwards, soon”), Middle High German sān, son ‎(“soon, then”), Old High German sār ‎(“immediately, soon”). Compare also Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐍃 ‎(suns, “immediately, soon”), from Proto-Germanic *suniz ‎(“soon”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: so͞on, IPA(key): /suːn/
  • Rhymes: -uːn

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