different between altogether vs patently

English

Etymology

From Middle English altogeder, altogedere, equivalent to al- (“all”) +? together. Cognate with Scots awthegither (“altogether”), Middle High German alzegater (“altogether”). Compare also Old English eal?eador, eall?eador (“altogether”), West Frisian allegearre (“altogether”). More at together.

The noun sense (nakedness): was popularized in George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??l.t????ð.?(?)/, /??.tu????ð.?(?)/, /??lt????ð?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?l.tu???ð.?/
• Rhymes: -?ð?(r)

Adverb

altogether (not comparable)

1. Completely, wholly, or without exception.
   • 1891, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,"

     Your advice will be altogether invaluable to me.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:completely

2. On the whole; with everything considered.

   Synonyms: all in all; see also Thesaurus:mostly

3. With everything included

   Altogether, your bill comes to $6.99.

Usage notes

“Altogether” and “all together” do not mean the same thing. The one-word term is used to mean “wholly, completely, in total”, whereas the two-word term is used to mean "as a group, in the same place”, etc.

Translations

Noun

altogether (plural altogethers)

1. (colloquial, usually with the) A state of nakedness. (Especially in the phrase in the altogether)
   • 1930 Aug. 4, "Prix de Rome," Time:

     Hearing that his wife was posing in the altogether for the great Spanish satirist, the Duke of Alba swore that he would paint Goya's picture in Goya's blood.

   • 2004 Nov. 25, David Carr, "When a TV Talking Head Becomes a Talking Body," New York Times (retrieved 16 Sep 2008):

     Last week, a Cleveland news anchor, Sharon Reed, was caught on camera stripping nude and joining a gaggle of other people in the altogether.

English

Etymology

patent +? -ly

Pronunciation

Many speakers prefer to use the long a pronunciation of the homograph patent in its sense meaning "open" or "clear", whereas the short a pronunciation is the norm for its sense meaning "a government-issued temporary monopoly on an idea" (the senses are cognate but long since differentiated). In this view, prescriptively, the adverb patently is best pronounced with a long a, although descriptively it is true that speakers often pronounce it with a short a. See patent § Pronunciation, patent § Etymology 1, and patent § Etymology 2.

Adverb

patently (comparative more patently, superlative most patently)

1. In a clear and unambiguous manner.

Usage notes

Some adjectives commonly collocating with patently: obvious, clear, wrong, incorrect, false, true

Synonyms

• expressly, unambiguously, demonstrably; see also Thesaurus:explicitly

Translations