since

since, adv., prep., and conj. (also a. and n.)
  (sɪns)
  Forms: α. 5 synnes, 5–6 syns, 6 sins, synz, synce, cynce; 5– since. β. 5 sennes, 6 sennys, sens, senz, 6, 9 sence, 7 cence.
  [Reduced form of sithence, or f. sin adv. + -s¹. Cf. Du. sinds.]
  A. adv.
  1. a. Then, thereupon; immediately afterwards.

c 1450 Langland's P. Pl. C. v. 15 Conscience..seide hym as þe kyng saide and sitthe [Ilchester MS. synnes] tok hus leue. Ibid. xii. 171 In a myrour..hue made me to loke, And sutthe [v.r. sennes] seide to me [etc.]. 1483 Cely Papers (Camden) 139 They were..browght upp theyr and syns sworne unto the jurdyccyon of the towne. 1568 Spenser Visions Bellay v. Wks. (Globe) 700/2, I hearde the tronke to grone... And since I saw the roote..Sende forth againe a twinne of forked trees.

  † b. since..since (or sith): Now..then. Obs.

1530 Palsgr. 841/2 Synce on the one syde, synce on the other, puis dung cousté, puis de laultre. Ibid. 884/1 Syns on the one syde and sythe on the other.

  † c. Now, already. Obs. rare.

a 1553 Udall Royster D. i. iii. (Arb.) 23 Haue we done singyng since? then will I in againe. Ibid. iii. v. 55 But lo and Merygreeke haue not brought him sens?

  2. From that time till now. In positive clauses implying continuity of action, etc., and commonly strengthened by ever.

1470–85 Malory Arthur ix. xli. 407 Euer syns he hath kepte me at his owne will. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iv. i. 2 You know since Pentecost the sum is due, And since I haue not much importun'd you. 1623 Lisle ælfric on O. & N. Test. Introd., Where they..have lived in sorrow and paines⁓taking ever since. 1658 J. Jones Ovid's Ibis 36 He [Midas] washed himself in this river and was restored; Since the streams are feigned to be golden. 1731 Gentl. Mag. I. 391/1 Bluster..quitted the Surgery in a Pet, and has liv'd in the Country ever since. 1824 Southey in Corr. w. Caroline Bowles 62 The first of these inverterate catarrhs, which I never failed to have every year since. 1885 Law Times LXXX. 118/1 In 1879 he went abroad, and had ever since remained abroad.

  3. a. Within the period, at some or any time, between then and now; subsequently, later.

1549 Latimer 4th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 119, I hearde once a tale of a thinge yat was done at Oxforde xx. yeres a go, and the lyke hath bene sence in thys realme. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iv. 81 My bones beare witnesse, That since haue felt the vigor of his rage. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 36 It was written and since is lost. 1629 Wadsworth Pilgr. i. 4 Her foure children, Hugh the eldest, since dead in Madrid [etc.]. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. ix, I am since informed that swearing is perfectly unfashionable. 1798 O'Keeffe Wild Oats i. i, That rogue's trick you play'd poor Miss Amelia, by..leaving her..and since marrying another lady. 1833 T. Hook Parson's Dau. iii. xi, More like Noah's Ark than any thing that has been since seen floating upon the face of the waters. 1885 Spectator 8 Aug. 1041/1 This was dimly felt at the time and has been more distinctly recognised since.

Comb. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. i. Ark 418 A vast multitude Of since-born mongrels. 1876 Gladstone in Westm. Gaz. 31 Dec. (1894) 1/3 The since-promoted agents of the Turkish Government.

  b. As adj. That has been since. rare.

1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. i. Eden 317 That first travell had no sympathy With our since-travel's wretched cruelty. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 28 July 1641, Eldest sonne of the since Earle of Norwich. 1849 Froude Nemesis Faith 116 My since experience of Sunday evenings.

  4. Ago; before now. With time specified, or preceded by long.

α c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn liv. 213 Long time since..shee fell sicke and died. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 94 The cause..of that sedition was declared also foure yeares synce in the assembly. 1624 Cosin's Corr. (Surtees) i. 32 Though his minde had ben that way 20 yeares since. 1662 J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 226 It is certain..the Chineses have some Books printed above seven hundred years since. 1721 in J. J. Babson Hist. Glouc., Mass. (W.), Captain Robinson..built the first of that sort about eight years since. a 1774 Goldsm. tr. Scarron's Com. Romance (1775) I. 33 A merchant from Lower-Maine bespoke it not half an hour since. 1823 De Quincey Lett. Educ. iii. (1860) 58 The mere rubbishy sweepings from the works of literati long since defunct. 1862 T. L. Peacock The Deceived Wks. 1875 III. 309 He went out a little while since.

β 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. vi. 94 That nacion had long sence bene vttrely destroied.., excepte [etc.]. 1597 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 417 Beinge longe sence signed by her Majeste.

  B. prep.
  1. Ever or continuously from (a specified time, etc.) till now.

α 1530 Palsgr. 812/2 Syns that daye, puis ce jour la. 1562 Child Marriages 49 The said John Starkie is xiiij yeres of age, and as muche as sins Whitsonday-Monday last past. 1611 Bible Gen. xxx. 30 The Lord hath blessed thee since my comming. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. ii. ii. (1827) II. 6 It was five months and a half since his first setting out. 1780 Mirror No. 103, I inherited a law-suit, kept alive by various means, ever since the year thirty⁓three. 1802 Wordsw. The Small Celandine 14 I'm as great as they,..Since the day I found thee out. 1861 Thackeray Four Georges iv. (1862) 184 He sleeps since thirty years.

β 1535 Coverdale 1 John iii. 8 The deuell synneth sence y⊇ begynnynge. 1565 Stapleton tr. Staphylus' Apol. 168 b, For sence the time of S. Gregory only,..we englishmen haue had the faith of Christ. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. 369.

  2. During the period between (a specified time) and now; at some time subsequent to or after.

α 1544 in Leadam Sel. Cas. Crt. Requests (Selden Soc.) 70 The seid sir John..synz his entre in to the seid lordshipe..haith gotten..dyuerse of the seid copiez of courte roll. 1582 in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. V. 27 Hee hathe said vj or vij Masses cynce his cuminge over. c 1645 Howell Lett. v. xxxi. (1655) I. 226 My last was of the first current, since which I received one from your Lordship. 1676 Glanvill Ess. Philos. & Relig. iii. 9 Diophantus, who lived long since the times of Aristotle. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Udolpho xxxiv, Sounds which, since that period, have there sunk into silence. 1808 Scott Marm. i. xxi, Even our good chaplain..Since our last siege we have not seen. 1837 Keith Bot. Lex. 115 Many advances have been made in carpological investigation since the time of Gærtner. 1880 Church Spenser i. 25 They seem to have changed since Spenser's time.

β 1515 A. Williamson in Douglas's Wks. (1874) I. Introd. p. xxi, The Kyng..has sent now sens Cristmes an vysse clerk off his Consell. a 1533 Frith Answ. More (1548) C 6 v, I receiued a letter from him, which was written sens Chrystmas. 1552 W. Powell's Chron. Yeres Title-p., The noble Actes done in and sens the reigne of Kyng Henry the fourthe. 1637 Hobart in Verney P. (1853) 190 There has bine nothing don cence the taking in of the hornworke.

  C. conj. I. From the time that.
  1. Denoting a point of time to which the action or event mentioned is subsequent.

α 14.. Langland's P. Pl. B. x. 224 (MS. Rawl.), Was neuer gome vpoun þis grounde, synnes god made þe worlde, Fairer vnderfonge, ne frendloker at ese, Þanne me self. 1511 Guylforde's Pilgr. (Camden) 70 We sayled further that nyght thanne we dyde in anye daye syns we departed from Jaffe. 1588 Kyd Househ. Philos. Wks. (1901) 252 A small patrimonie,..twice as much encreased since my father left it. 1611 Bible Exod. ix. 24 There was none like it in..Egypt, since it became a nation. 1756 Burke Subl. & B. v. v, Since I wrote these papers, I found two very striking instances [etc.]. 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 23/1 Has he ever been out since he was last at the court house? 1825 Scott Betrothed xxvii, Since you went hence, we have received certain notice, that [etc.]. 1875 Tennyson Harold i. i, Albeit no rolling stone,..Thou hast rounded since we met.

β 1526 Tindale Acts xix. 2 Have ye receaved the holy gost sence ye beleved? 1549 Latimer Ploughers (Arb.) 24 Sence lording and loytrying hath come vp, preaching hath come downe.

  2. a. Following upon a statement (or inquiry) as to the duration of the period in question.

α 1557 N. T. (Geneva) Acts xxiv. 11 There are yet but twelue dayes since I went vp to Ierusalem. 1601 Shakes. All's Well i. ii. 70 How long is't, Count, Since the Physitian at your fathers died? 1661 Walton Compl. Angler (ed. 3) v. 124 It is so long since I learnt it, that I have forgot a part of it. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 32 ¶2 Nor is it so very long since Richard the Third set up half the Backs of the Nation. 1753 Foote Eng. in Paris ii. Wks. 1799 I. 49 'Tis an age since I saw you. 1780 Mirror No. 95 It is now above four years since I became the wife of a gentleman. 1825 Scott Betrothed v, It is long since the kites have had such a banquet. 1883 Daily News 22 Sept. 4/5 It is just a fortnight since Mr. Gladstone embarked.

β 1535 Coverdale Joshua xiv. 10 It is now fyue and fortie yeare sence ye Lorde spake this vnto Moses. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Cum, It is two yere, sens he came to me first.

  b. Used in place of ‘that’.

1647 W. Browne tr. Polexander ii. ii. 194 It is..five moneths now, since these honor'd personages have suffer'd..indignities in these Dungeons. a 1774 Goldsm. tr. Scarron's Com. Romance (1775) I. 313 Though it is now four⁓score years since he has plagued all those who have any dependence on him, yet he is so well in health [etc.]. 1804 C. Smith Conversations, etc. I. 162 It is near four months since Ella has been away.

  c. As quasi-n. rare.

1654 Whitlock Zootomia 157 My Friend..knoweth no History but some ten or twelve Sinces in his Almanack: How long since the World was created. Ibid. 298 The most famous of thy Exploits will not be eminent enough to make an Almanacks Since.

  3. a. In sentences implying continuity of action or fact during the period indicated. Also with ever, and (rarely) with that.

α 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. i. 82 The iealous..Widdow, and her selfe, Since that our Brother dub'd them Gentle⁓women, Are mighty Gossips. 1647 W. Browne tr. Polexander ii. ii. 194 Ever since I have been able to carry Armes, I have try'd divers wayes to [etc.]. 1653 Walton Compl. Angler ii, We were here an hour before Sun-rise, and have given her no rest since we came. 1697 Vanbrugh Relapse i. iii, Here you have stood ever since you came in. 1779 Mirror No. 25, My gardener has tied his hair behind..ever since he saw Mr. Papillot. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 122 Thus have I been since first the Plague burst forth. 1863 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 155 She has lived in England since she was ten years old. 1877 Mrs. Forrester Mignon I. 253, I have known him ever since he was in petticoats.

β 1535 Coverdale 2 Pet. iii. 4 For sence the fathers fell on slepe, euery thinge contynueth as it was from the begynnynge. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. A, Euer sens thou waste a yonge man.

  † b. With verbs of recollection: When; the time when. Obs.

1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 149 Thou remembrest Since once I sat vpon a promontory [etc.]. 1611 ― Wint. T. v. i. 219 Remember, since you ow'd no more to Time Then I doe now. 1690 Child Disc. Trade (1698) 73 He can remember since we had not above three merchants ships of 300 tons.

  c. In various, chiefly jocular, comparisons, as since Christ was a corporal, etc. colloq. (chiefly U.S. and Mil.).

1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. ii. 18 And they haue beene grande Iurie men, since before Noah was a Saylor. 1816 Keats Endymion ii. 443 Never, I aver, Since Ariadne was a vintager, So cool a purple. 1900 I. L. Reeves Bamboo Tales 20 Private McCoy..had been in the service since George Washington was a ‘lance jack’. 1921 J. Dos Passos Three Soldiers ii. ii. 75 Ain't had any pay since Christ was a corporal. I've forgotten what it looks like. 1961 Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1274/2 Since Pontius was a pilot, as in ‘He's been in that mob since..’ R.A.F. c[atch] p[hrase], testifying to long service: since ca. 1944. 1970 N.Y. Post 7 Apr. 5 Dana Stone had been in Vietnam since Christ was a corporal, as the grunts in the field would say.

  d. since when?: used ellipt. as an inquiry into the duration of a state of affairs mentioned in a previous statement (freq. expressing doubt or incredulity); also, with full interrogative clause. colloq.

1907 G. B. Shaw John Bull's Other Island iv. 84 Broadbent (very solemnly): No: I am a teetotaller. Aunt Judy (incredulously): Arra since when? 1966 ‘G. Black’ You want to die, Johnny? v. 105 ‘Lil's disappeared.’.. ‘Since when?’ 1977 C. Watson One Man's Meat vii. 64 ‘Since when has Digger's father been a V.C.?’ ‘Since when has Digger had a father?’

  II. 4. a. Because that; seeing that; inasmuch as.

α c 1450 Old Treat. in Roy's Rede me, etc. (Arb.) 174 Syns Christ bought vs as he did other. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn liv. 213 But since all humane flesh is mortall,..what auailes my sorowful grones and passions? 1540 Palsgr. Acolastus ii. i. I iij, Go to, let it be,..syns it lyketh so. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 7 b, Sins it is not yet dinner tyme, let vs walke about. 1611 A. Stafford Niobe 152 Whereunto I giue credit, since his succeeders do the same. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. ii. 483 But since no reason can confute ye, I'll try to force you to your Duty. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 215 ¶4 Since I am engaged on this Subject, I cannot forbear mentioning a Story [etc.]. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxvi, What signifies..courting his friendship, since you find how scurvily he uses you? 1833 H. Martineau Briery Creek iii. 59 You shall have them cheap, since there is but a poor demand for them to-day. 1895 Manch. Guardian 14 Oct. 5/6 All the tunnelling has to be done..by the pick, since boring machines cannot be used.

β a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xxiv. 71 Sennys he spekyth of god, me thynke we ought to speke to hym. a 1553 Respublica 1565 But sens Respublica hathe putt me to exile, where maye I goo?

  b. So since that.

1540–1 Elyot Image Gov. 6 The saied proverbe seemeth by hym, whiche lacked learnyng, to bee devised, sens that he preferreth ignoraunce before cunnyng. 1588 Shakes. Com. Err. ii. i. 114 Since that my beautie cannot please his eie, Ile weepe what's left away. 1639 R. Gentilis Servita's Inquis. (1676) 878 Since that by the Princes Ministers, such a disorder is put in practice. 1682 Creech Lucret. 55 For since that men born blind..Know things by touch [etc.].

Oxford English Dictionary