afoot

afoot

English

Etymology

a- +‎ foot

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfʊt/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊt

Adverb

afoot (not comparable)

1. On foot. (means of locomotion, walking)
   • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, H.L. Brækstad, transl., Folk and Fairy Tales, page 77:

     "The dogs were no sooner let loose, than the hare was afoot.

2. On foot. (support of the body, standing)
3. (figurative) In motion; in action; astir; stirring; in progress.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii]:

     Hamlet: […] I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot, / Even with the very comment of thy soul / Observe mine uncle: […]

   • 1913, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Poison Belt‎:

     Possibly some chemical experiment was afoot; possibly----Well, it was no business of mine to speculate upon why he wanted it.

   • 1959 October, “Talking of Trains: Paying for the commuters”, in Trains Illustrated, page 458:

     In San Francisco and in New Jersey, to quote two other examples, plans are afoot to subsidise new commuter line construction or existing operations out of toll revenue from state highways or bridges.

   • 1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Pan Books, OCLC 51000970, page 29:

     ‘Patience,’ said Slartibartfast again. ‘Great things are afoot.’¶ ‘That's what you said last time we met,’ said Arthur.¶ ‘They were,’ said Slartibartfast.¶ ‘Yes, that's true,’ admitted Arthur.¶ All, however, that seemed to be afoot was a ceremony of some kind.

Translations

means of locomotion, walking

Arabic: عَلَى قَدَمَيْن‎ (ʿalā qadamayn) Catalan: a peu Czech: pěšky (cs) Dutch: te voet, lopend (nl) Finnish: jalan (fi) French: à pied (fr) Galician: a pé German: zu Fuß (de) Portuguese: a pé (pt) Russian: пешко́м (ru) (peškóm) Spanish: a pie (es), andando (es), en curso Swedish: till fots (sv)

support of the body, standing

Catalan: dempeus (ca) Czech: na nohách French: debout (fr) Galician: de pé German: auf den Füssen, stehend (de) Italian: in piedi Portuguese: de pé (pt) Russian: на ногах (na nogax) Spanish: en pie, de pie

in progress

Arabic: عَلَى قَدَم وَسَاق‎ (ar) (ʿalā qadam wasāq) Catalan: en curs Czech: v běhu, v běhu Dutch: op til, op komst French: en cours (fr) Irish: ar bun, ar siúl Russian: в движении (v dviženii) Spanish: en marcha, en curso

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Bulgarian: (please verify) пеша (bg) (peša), (please verify) на крак (na krak)

Adjective

afoot (not comparable)

1. (predicative) That is on foot, in motion, in action, in progress.
   • 2011, Maile Chapman, Your Presence Is Requested at Suvanto: A Novel

     Sunny moves through these final days quickly, easily, buoyed by routine even though change is afoot in all directions.

   • 2019 October, James Abbott, “Esk Valley revival”, in Modern Railways, page 76:

     Now there are plans afoot to introduce a couple of extra trains to the timetable in December, with the long-term goal of a doubling of the service to eight trains a day.

References

• “afoot”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• oofta