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Till vs Upon - What's the difference?

till | upon |

As a proper noun till

is .

As a preposition upon is

being above and in contact with another.

As an adverb upon is

being the target of an action.

till

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (Northumbrian) til, from (etyl) til.

Preposition

(English prepositions)
  • To.
  • *, Bk.XVIII, Ch.vii:
  • *:Than the knyghtes parters of the lystis toke up Sir Madore and led hym tylle hys tente.
  • *1854 , Prof. John Wilson, The Genius and Character of Burns , p.194 (Google preview):
  • *:Similar sentiments will recur to everyone familiar with his writings all through them till the very end.
  • Until, up to, as late as (a given time).
  • :
  • :
    • Synonyms
    * (until) til, 'til, until

    Conjunction

    (English Conjunctions)
  • until, until the time that
    • Maybe you can, maybe you can't: you won't know till you try.
  • * 1582 , 2:7:
    • that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, till she please.
  • * 1846 , Edward Lear, The Book of Nonsense :
    • She twirled round and round, / Till she sunk underground,
  • * 1912 , anonymous, Punky Dunk and the Mouse , P.F. Volland & Co.:
    • And the Mouse sat and laughed till he cried.
    Synonyms
    * (until) 'til, until

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) tillen'' "to draw" from (etyl) ''-tyllan'' (as in ''betyllan'' "to lure, decoy," and ''fortyllan'' "draw away;" related to ''tollian ). Cognate with Albanian . Or alternatively from (etyl) tylle'' "compartment" from (etyl) ''tille'' "compartment, shelter on a ship" from (etyl) '' "plank."

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A cash register
  • A removable box within a cash register containing the money
    • Pull all the tills and lock them in the safe.
  • The contents of a cash register, for example at the beginning or end of the day or of a cashier's shift
    • My count of my till was 30 dollars short.
  • (obsolete) A tray or drawer in a chest.

    • Etymology 3

    (etyl) tilian

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • to develop so as to improve or prepare for usage; to cultivate (said of knowledge, virtue, mind etc)
  • to work or cultivate or plough (soil); to prepare for growing vegetation and crops
  • * Bible, Genesis iii. 23
    • The Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
  • to cultivate soil
  • (obsolete) To prepare; to get.
    • Quotations
    * (English Citations of "till")

    Etymology 4

    Unknown, but possibly via etymology 3 (the verb) because alluvial deposit is used as a fertilizer.

    Noun

    (wikipedia till) (en noun)
  • glacial drift consisting of a mixture of clay, sand, pebbles and boulders
  • (dialect) manure or other material used to fertilize land

    • Etymology 5

    Shortened from lentil.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A vetch; a tare.

    • References

    * *

    References

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * * ----

    upon

    English

    Alternative forms

    * vpon (obsolete)

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Being above and in contact with another.
  • :
  • *{{quote-book, year=1899, author=(Hughes Mearns)
    • , title= , passage=Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish, I wish he’d go away …}}
  • Being directly supported by another.
  • :
  • :
  • Being followed by another so as to form a series.
  • :
  • At a prescribed point in time.
  • :
  • .
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.}}
  • *
  • *:Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence.

    • Usage notes

    A somewhat elevated word; the simpler, more general term on is generally interchangeable, and more common in casual American speech. In poetic or legal contexts, upon is common.

    Synonyms

    * (all senses) on * (time) at

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Being the target of an action.
    • He was set upon by the agitated dogs
  • Incidental to a specified point in time or order of action; usually combined with here-, there- or where-.
    • The clock struck noon, whereupon the students proceeded to lunch.

    Derived terms

    * hereupon * thereupon * whereupon

    Statistics

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