Word of the Day

adverb

Oftentimes, she is the last employee to leave the office for the day.

"For the past three months, viewers have borne witness to what has become a winning formula in reality TV: loudmouthed, oftentimes obnoxious people bickering with one another." — From a recap of Celebrity Apprentice by Dan Hyman on RollingStone.com, May 21, 2012

Despite its archaic, literary ring, "oftentimes" is quite alive today. In fact, it seems to be more popular even now than it was thirty years or so ago, appearing frequently both in written expressions and in quoted speech. "Oftentimes" was first used in the 14th century (the same century that gave us "often"), and its meaning hasn't changed — as meanings oftentimes will — in all that time. It was formed as an extension of its slightly older synonym "ofttimes." Today "ofttimes" is less common, but "oft" (which comes from Old English and also means "often" or "frequently") is popular in combination with past participles, as in "oft-praised."

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