enough, a., n., and adv.
(ɪˈnʌf)
Forms: 1 ᵹenóᵹ, ᵹenóh, 2–3 ȝenoh, (2 onoh), 2–5 inoch, 3 anoȝ, inouh, inooȝ, 3–5 in-, ynogh, -oȝ(h, -oh(g, -ouȝ, -owȝ, -ug(h, 4 enogh(t, -oȝ, -oh, enohw, ynowh, 5 inowhe, 6 in-, ynowghe, enohut, (4 anough, -ouȝ, inoht, inogh, 5 enoghe, ynought), 4–7 an-, in-, ynough(e, (4 ynowþȝ, 5 inowge, ynoughf, 6–8 enoff, inoffe, 6 yenough, 7 eno', -ouch, -out, 8 enought,) 7–8 enufe, -uff, 6– enough. Also north. 4–6 in-, yneuch, -ewch(t, (6 aneuch(e, -gh, en(n)ewche, 7 æneuche), 8–9 Sc. eneuch, -gh. See also enow1.
[OE. ᵹenóᵹ, later ᵹenóh adj. (used in acc. neut. as adv.), corresp. to OFris. enôch, OS. ginôg (Du. genoeg), OHG. ginuog (MHG. genuog, genuoc, mod.G. genug), ON. gnógr (Sw. nog, Da. nok), Goth. ganôh-s:—OTeut. *ganôgo-z, related to the impers. vb. (pret. -pres.) OE. ᵹeneah, OHG. ginah, Goth. ganah ‘it suffices’, f. OTeut. *ga- (see y-) + *nah, occurring also with different prefix in OE. beneah he enjoys, requires, Goth. binah it is right or needful. The OTeut. root *nah:—Aryan *nak appears also in L. nancisci (pa. pple. nac-tus) to obtain, Skr. na{cced} to reach.
The earlier OE. form ᵹenóᵹ, and the forms with inflexional termination, have their normal phonetic representative in enow. In later OE. the ᵹ when final after a long vowel became in most dialects h (= x), but when medial remained unchanged; thus in this adj. the nom. sing. and the acc. sing. masc. and neut. became ᵹenóh, whence the mod. enough, while the nom. and acc. pl. were ᵹenóᵹe, yielding enow as their regular mod. form. Hence in many dialects, though not in all, the word enough (or its local equivalent), is employed in the sing. and in the advb. uses, while enow serves for the plural. In 18th c. this distinction was recognized (e.g. by Johnson) as standard English; now, however, enow is in literary use entirely superseded, exc. as an intentional archaism, by enough.
The frequent ME. forms with final t may possibly be due to influence of the ON. neut. gnógt; cf. however forms like boght for bough, borcht for borch, borough, etc., where the t is merely excrescent.]
A. adj. Sufficient in quantity or number.
1. in concord with n. expressed or implied: a. with n. in sing., which it usually follows. Also with ellipsis of n. in sing. Also, with intensive force, † enough and enough, and U.S. dial. in phr. enough sight better, etc.: cf. sight n.1 2 b. (For advbl. phrase † time enough, see time.)
| a 1000 Andreas 1536 (Gr.) Þær wæs ælcum ᵹenoᵹ fram dæᵹes orde drync sona ᵹearu! a 1200 Moral Ode 235 Hi hem deð wa inoch. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3365 Anoȝ adden he ðanne drinc. a 1300 Cursor M. 4799 (Gött.) Tresur enohut wid ȝu ȝe take. c 1330 Roland & V. 162 Thow byrd to haue nurtour aneuch. c 1400 Destr. Troy 13119 Past of his pouer to pouert ynugh. 1475 Sir J. Paston in Paston Lett. No. 754 III. 130, I have pytte yow to cost, charge, and losse i nowge. 1518 Dispatch in Ld. Berners Froiss. Pref. I. 12 With payne and trauayle anough, we made toward the Cowrte. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 40 It stude rycht stark quhair it had strenth aneuche. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 314 There's wood enough within. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. iii, He had not resolution enough to give any man pain by a denial. 1780 F. Burney Diary 23 Feb. The play has wit enough and enough, but..incidents don't appear to me interesting. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. ii. 36 That thought is happiness Enough for me. 1845 S. Judd Margaret i. xiv. 110 Their music is enough sight better than ours. 1856 A. Cary Married, not Mated 63 Granmam likes Hal, in fact, enough sight the best. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. §11. 74, I..thought that we had light enough, and ought to make use of it. 1887 M. E. Wilkins Humble Romance 160 If it's got to be done by anybody I'd enough sight rather 'twoud be done by the town. 1891 ― New Eng. Nun 407 They'd keep dusted 'nough sight cleaner. 1911 J. C. Lincoln Cap'n Warren's Wards xvi. 251 It was enough sight damper amongst the seats than in those cloth waves. |
b. with n. in plural. Also with ellipsis of pl. n. (The OE. and ME. forms with pl. inflexion will be found under enow; the early examples below should perh. be regarded as belonging to the absol. use with gen. pl.)
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 35 Mið oðre wowe inohg. a 1330 Rom. Alexander in Roland & V. (1836) Introd. 23 About him com barouns anough. c 1500 God Speed Plough 78 Then commeth the tipped-staves for the Marshalse, And saye they haue prisoners mo than Inough. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. ii. viii. (1675) 124 'Tis not many, or few, that are requir'd, but enough. 1818 Cobbett Pol. Reg. XXXIII. 108 Now, there are candidates enough, who will pretend that they are for Reform. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 12 Two, enough and none to spare. |
2. predicatively.
| c 1040 Rule St. Benet (Logeman) 92 Genoh bið munece twa tunican. a 1200 Moral Ode 389 in Trin. Coll. Hom. 232 Crist sal one ben inoȝh alle his derlinges. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 995 This is y-nough, Grisilde myn. 1535 Coverdale 2 Sam. xxiv. 16. It is ynough, holde now thy hande. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. June 79 Enough is me to paint out my vnrest. 1600 Shakes. Sonn. cxxxiii, Is't not ynough to torture me alone. 1649 Milton Eikon. Pref. B., It is anough to remember them the truth of what they know. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. ii. 93 Is't not enough w'are bruised and kicked With sinfull members of the wicked? 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 213 It was enough for him that those bills seemed, etc. |
3. absol. in sing. a. That which is sufficient; as much as is requisite or desired. Often const. of (in OE. partitive genitive). Also const. to († at) with inf., or for with n., indicating the purpose. to have had enough (of anything): to have become tired of (it), desire no more.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxiv. §4 He hæfþ on his aᵹenum ᵹenoh. a 1000 Genesis 619 (Gr.) Þonne gife ic him þæs leohtes ᵹenoᵹ. a 1200 Moral Ode 387 Inoh he haued þe hine haueð. a 1300 Cursor M. 13501 (Gött.) All þai had enoght at ett. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1466 Now haf we ynogh, now haf we noght. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. vii. 86 He hath ynough þat hath bred ynough. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xii. vii. (1495) 417 They arere not vp theyr heedes whanne they drynke or they haue dronke inough. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 446 Quhen thou wantts gud, cum fech ynewch fra me. 1526 Tindale Matt. xxv. 9 Not so, lest there be not ynought for vs and you. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 159 As good ynough as a feast. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 300, I have and shall have inough to mainteine my poore estate, as long as I live. c 1645 Roxb. Ballads (1886) VI. 321 And Captain Puff will have enuff To make him brag and vapor. 1697 South Serm. (1737) VI. 126 Carrying enough and enough about him to assure his final doom. 1704 London. Gaz. No. 3989/3 The French Man having enough of it, sheared off. 1705 Tate Warrior's Welcome ii, Enoff is Dar'd; Secure the Lawrels won. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 241, ..I had had enough of fighting. 1767 A. Young Farmer's Lett. People 294 The plea of growing enough for family use of wheat, oats, &c. is a mistaken one. 1814 Jane Austen Mansf. Park (1851) 65, I have had enough of the family for one morning. 1850 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xix. 189 Augustine! Augustine!.. I'm sure you've said enough. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 369, I am in want, and he has enough. |
b. to have enough to do († ado) to (accomplish something): to have great difficulty, have to exert all one's powers. (In ME. the explanatory to do was not expressed.)
| a 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 Thre men hadden onoh to bæron onne. a 1340 Cursor M. 16906 (Cott.) A mikel stan to turn i-nogh had tuent. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 265 They thought they should have ynough to do to defende the towne. 1622 Bacon Henry VII 246 He had enough to do to saue and helpe. 1746 Sir J. Cope Rep. Cond. 126 She would have enough ado to get home. |
c. ellipt. = ‘Enough has been done, said, etc.’; quasi-int.; also followed by of in interjectional phrases.
| c 1340 Sir Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1948 Inoȝ..I þonk yow, bi þe rode. 1605 Shakes. Macb. v. viii. 34 And damn'd be him that first cries hold, enough. 1645 Chas. I Let. Wife in Rep. Comm. Hist. MSS. App. 6 But anuf of this, I know thy affection. 1712 E. Cooke Voy. S. Sea 354 But enought of this, since it was not our Fortune to take her. 1728 Pope Dunc. iii. 357 Enough! enough! the raptur'd monarch cries. 1808 Scott Marm. i. xvi, Enough of him. |
d. Idiomatically, † his enough: = ‘enough for him’ (obs.). Also (nonce-uses) as n. with article.
| 1651 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. lix. 176 It's his enough. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. iv. iii. §3 If some Courtiers were to stint the enough of Clergy-men. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. II. 149 There is no enough short of a little too much. |
e. Phr. enough is enough, one must be satisfied with what has been achieved, etc.
| 1546 J. Heywood Prov. ii. xi, Here is enough, I am satisfied (saide he) Sens enough is enough (saide I)..For folke saie, enough is as good as a feast. 1721 J. Kelly Scot. Prov. 93 Enough is enough of Bread and Cheese. 1834 Southey Doctor I. xx. 199 As for money, enough is enough. 1941 G. B. Shaw How to become Musical Critic (1960) 319, I could multiply instances; but enough is enough. 1947 N. Streatfeild Grass in Piccadilly 225 It's been very nice, but enough is enough. |
B. adv. (In mod.Eng. enough nomally follows an adj. or adv. which it qualifies; in OE. and ME. it often preceded it, and occasional instances of this order occur in writings of the present century.)
1. a. Sufficiently; in a quantity or degree that satisfies a desire, meets a want, or fulfils a purpose.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvi. §3 Genoᵹ sweotole me is þæt ᵹesæd. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 217 Þis chirche is riche inoh. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 600 It adde lested long a-noȝ. a 1300 Cursor M. 8103 Bi-halden vs inogh has þou. 1513–75 Diurn. Occurr. (1833) 59 To assy gif thair ladderis wer convenient and lang aneuch. 1535 Coverdale 1 Chron. xxiii. 1 He [Dauid] himselfe was olde, and had lyued ynough. 1597 J. Payne Royal Exch. 3 Soone ynoughe yf well ynoughe. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729), Your choice Tulips..will be more secure, and forward enough. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 124 Yet not anough had practised to deceive Uriel once warnd. 1716–8 Lady M. W. Montague Lett. I. xix. 59, I hope you know me enough to take my word. 1742 Richardson Pamela III. 231 They have vex'd me more than enough. 1804 W. Milford Harmony 238 Enough aware that, etc. 1809 Roland Fencing 61 You are not always quick enough to parry as has been recommended. 18.. Coleridge Ch. & State (1839) 206 Enough thankful. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 161 He who is moderately good, and does no evil, is good enough for me. |
b. quasi-adj. qualifying a n. used as predicate.
| 1711 Addison Spect. No. 130 ¶1 The Butler has been Fool enough to be seduced by them. Mod. He was not man enough to confess the truth. 1878 Hardy Ret. Native I. ii. ii. 247 Looking at a spot into which she was not climber enough to venture. |
c. ellipt., with omission of done, i.e. boiled, cooked, roasted, etc. Obs. exc. dial.
| c 1440 Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 432 When thai arne ynoughf, take hem up, and let hem kele. 1658 Evelyn Fr. Gard. iii. iv. (1675) 294 You shall discover, if it be enough boyled, by putting into it a Hens egg; if it sink, it is not yet enough. 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Tart, Bake it in the oven, and when enough, strew Sugar again over it. 1796 H. Glasse Cookery iii. 29 As soon as you find the greens are shrunk and fallen to the bottom..they are enough. 1863 Atkinson Provinc. Danby, Eneugh, adv., sufficiently cooked, enough done (of any article of food). |
2. In vaguer sense (qualifying an adj. or adv.). a. With intensive force: Fully, quite, abundantly, as much as well could be. Now only in certain customary (chiefly colloq.) phrases, as sure enough, you know well enough, etc. Also in weaker sense, implying ‘a slight augmentation of the sense of the positive’ (J.), as in aptly enough, oddly enough.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvi. §3 Ða cwæþ ic; Genoᵹ open hit is. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 223 God wot ᵹenoh ᵹeare ᵹif ᵹe of þan treowe aeteð. a 1225 Ancr. R. 420 Sum wummon inouh reaðe wereð þe brech of heare ful wel i-knotted. a 1300 Fall & Passion 101 in E.E.P. (1862) 15 Ihsu was sikir inoȝ. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 286 Hys landis that war fayr Inewch Thai to the lord off clyffurd gave. c 1450 Merlin iv. 68 And these othir tymes I parceyved it wele I-nough. 1529 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1204/1 This poynte is..metely playn inough. a 1568 Sempill Ballates 237 The Quhyt is twiche and fresche ennewche. 1594 Battell Balrinness in Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 351 For weill aneugh they understood. 1630 Lane Sqr's T. p. 151 note, This heard, Leyfurco with his mates thus prate, theare wheare weare safe enuff topp of the gate. a 1774 Goldsm. Double Transform. 28 Though she felt his usage rough, Yet in a man 'twas well enough. 1783 Ld. Hailes Antiq. Chr. Ch. ii. 15 Which, aptly enough, might be denominated the journals of the senate. 1871 Browning Hervé Riel, You shall look long enough ere you come to Hervé Riel. |
b. Implying disparagement of the importance or relevance of a conceded proposition.
| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. i. 57 An honest fellow enough..but he has not so much Braine as eare-wax. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. xvi. 327 Good bread enough, but baked as biscuits. 1822 Blackw. Mag. XII. 69 Calashes are good things enough, when the weather's wet and muggy. 1831 Macaulay Essays, Johnson, Wks. (1866) V. 509 The conceit is wretched enough, but, etc. 1856 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 286 A good enough man in his way—sober and laborious, and all that. |
3. With comparatives: amply, sufficiently. U.S. dial.
| a 1852 F. M. Whitcher Widow Bedott P. (1883) xvi. 59 It's enough ginteeler 'n them flambergasted blue and yaller things. 1897 R. M. Stuart In Simpkinsville 18 You'd see one thet was enough pinker an sweeter 'n the rest to make you climb for it. |