oftentimes

English

WOTD – 19 July 2010

Etymology

Inherited from the Middle English oftentymes; equivalent to oftentime +‎ -s. Compare oftentime.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɒf.ənˌtaɪmz/, /ˈɒf.tənˌtaɪmz/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔf.ənˌtaɪmz/, /ˈɔf.tənˌtaɪmz/
  • (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑf.ənˌtaɪmz/, /ˈɑf.tənˌtaɪmz/

Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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Adverb

oftentimes (not comparable)

1. (chiefly US, elsewhere archaic) Frequently; often.
   • 1804, Robert Wissett, On the Cultivation and Preparation of Hemp:

     But because this is oftentimes dangerous, and much hurt hath been received thereby through casualty of fire, I advise the sticking four stakes into the earth, at least five feet above the ground […]

   • 1967, Ann Helen Stroup, An Investigation of the Dress of American Children from 1930 Through 1941 with Emphasis on Factors Influencing Change, page 195:

     Pique and linen also accented several coats and oftentimes were both detachable and formed an overcollar covering a collar made from the coat fabric.

   • 2023 January 10, Whitney Eulich, America Armenta, “Mexico arrests son of ‘El Chapo’: Why don’t citizens feel safer?”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     Over the past decade, the very nature of organized crime has changed, with many groups diversifying their income beyond drug trafficking, and large cartels splintering into smaller, oftentimes more nimble groups.

Synonyms

• oftentime
• ofttimes
• oftwhiles
• See Thesaurus:often

Translations

frequently

• Asturian: davezu
• Basque: maiz
• Czech: častokrát
• French: comme d’habitude (fr)
• German: oftmals (de), oft (de)
• Italian: frequentemente (it)
• Norwegian: ofte (no)
• Romanian: frecvent (ro), deseori (ro)
• Russian: ча́сто (ru) (částo)
• Spanish: frecuentemente (es)
• Swedish: ofta (sv)

repeatedly

• Asturian: darréu, repetidamente, repetidamente
• Czech: mnohdy (cs)
• Italian: ripetutamente (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: om og om igjen

• Romanian: repetat (ro)
• Russian: многокра́тно (ru) (mnogokrátno)
• Spanish: reiteradamente (es), repetidamente (es)
• Swedish: om och om igen

References

• “oftentimes, adv.” in the Oxford English Dictionary (third edition, March 2004)