different between this vs alot

English

Etymology

From Middle English this, from Old English þis (neuter demonstrative), from North Sea Germanic base *þa- "that", from Proto-Germanic *þat, from Proto-Indo-European *tód, extended form of demonstrative base *to-; + North Sea Germanic definitive suffix -s, from Proto-Indo-European *só (“this, that”).

Cognate with Scots this (“this”), Saterland Frisian dusse (“this”), West Frisian dizze (“this”), German dies, dieses (“this”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: th?s, IPA^(key): /ð?s/, /ð?s/
• Rhymes: -?s

Determiner

this (plural these)

1. The (thing) here (used in indicating something or someone nearby).

2. The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone just mentioned).

3. The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone about to be mentioned).

4. (informal) A known (thing) (used in first mentioning a person or thing that the speaker does not think is known to the audience). Compare with "a certain ...".

5. (of a time reference) Designates the current or next instance. Cf. next.

Related terms

• that, these, those

Derived terms

• thisness
• this, that, and the other

Translations

Adverb

this (not comparable)

1. To the degree or extent indicated.

   I need this much water.

   Do we need this many recommendations?

   We've already come this far, we can't turn back now.

Translations

Pronoun

this (plural these)

1. The thing, item, etc. being indicated.

   This isn't the item that I ordered.

   • This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune,—often the surfeit of our own behaviour,—we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars […] — Shakespeare, King Lear, Act 1. Scene 2.

Related terms

• that, these, those

Translations

Noun

this (plural thises)

1. (philosophy) Something being indicated that is here; one of these.
2. (computing) Referring to the current context in a programming environment in C-like languages.

Interjection

this

1. (Internet slang) Indicates the speaker's strong approval or agreement with the previous material.

Synonyms

• +1
• IAWTP
• QFT

Anagrams

• HITs, Hist, Tish, hist, hist-, hist., hits, iths, shit, sith, tish

Middle English

Etymology 1

Determiner

this

1. Alternative spelling of þis (“this”)

Pronoun

this

1. Alternative spelling of þis (“this”)

Adverb

this

1. Alternative spelling of þis (“this”)

Etymology 2

Determiner

this

1. Alternative spelling of þis (“these”)

Pronoun

this

1. Alternative spelling of þis (“these”)

Quechua

Etymology

onomatopoeia

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t?is/

Interjection

this

1. the sound a cat makes when preparing to attack something
2. the sound of damp wood burning

References

• “this” in Academia Mayor de la Lengua Quechua (2006) Diccionario quechua-español-quechua, 2nd edition, Cusco: Edmundo Pantigozo, page 207.

Scots

Determiner

this (plural thir)

1. this
2. Doric form of thir (“these”)

Pronoun

this (plural thir)

1. this
2. Doric form of thir (“these”)

English

Adverb

alot (not comparable)

1. (nonstandard, proscribed) Alternative spelling of a lot (compare to awhile).

Noun

alot (uncountable)

1. (nonstandard, proscribed) Alternative spelling of a lot
   • 2000, Teaching Secondary English, ed. Daniel Sheridan. [in a tenth-grade student's paper]

     There was alot of sex discrimination in the 60’s. For one thing there was no sports for girls and in alot of schools the female teachers were not allowed to get married or they could be fired. [1]

   • 2003, Matt Janacone, Three by the Sea [2]

     It was alot of lumber, alot of condos, and Joe did not know alot about either of them, only that it was alot of money; he hated to throw his money into something he did not know alot about.

   • 2005, Aphrodite Jones, Cruel Sacrifice [From the suicidal patient's own writing.] [3]

     She talked about death: “My philosophy on life is it could be alot better. Like I would’ve never gotten into this mess if I wouldn’t have tried to commit suicide. Actually I was just trying to make myself sick. But then again it could be alot worse! [...]”

Usage notes

This spelling of "a lot" is frequent in informal writing but not generally accepted by arbiters of English usage. Others view it as a legitimate contraction. Some occurrences of alot in print may be typographical errors.

• 1993, The Columbia Guide to Standard American English calls alot “substandard” and notes that it is “increasingly found in informal correspondence and student writing” and “has as yet received no sanction in print except on the op-ed and sports pages.” [4] [5]
• 1996, The American Heritage Book of English Usage states that “alot is still considered an error in print” but notes that standard words have formed by fusion of the article with a noun, such as another and awhile, and suggests the possibility that alot may, like them, eventually enter standard usage. [6]
• 2004, Jack Lynch Guide to Grammar and Style (entry dated 2004) flatly states this to be a two-word expression. [7]
• 2004, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage also compares alot to awhile. It states alot to be “still regarded as nonstandard” and notes 50 appearances in the British National Corpus, “almost entirely from three sources: e-mail, TV autocue data, and TV newscripts.” It suggests that some usages of alot in typewritten use are to be considered merely typos of the standard a lot though its appearance in handwriting and typescript is “more significant, as the shadow of things to come.” [8]

See also

• lotta
• moreso

Anagrams

• ATOL, Alto, Toal, alto, alto-, atlo-, lota, talo-, tola

Indonesian

Etymology

From Javanese alot (??????).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?al?t?/
• Hyphenation: alot

Noun

alot (first-person possessive alotku, second-person possessive alotmu, third-person possessive alotnya)

1. (dialect, Java) tough, hard.

   Synonym: liat

   Antonym: lancar

Further reading

• “alot” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Javanese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

alot

1. tough, hard to pierce
2. not easily discouraged

Descendants

• ? Indonesian: alot

Kiput

Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *alud.

Noun

alot

1. boat