astir

C2+ Topic:Verbs of Movement

US /əˈstɝ/ UK /əˈstɜː/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
in a state of motion, excitement, or activity

By dawn the whole village was astir with preparations.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · in a state of motion,... active awake bustling movingagoglively afoot

Opposites

still quiet dormant motionless asleep

Word family

Related forms stir

Etymology

From a- ('on, in') + stir (movement, commotion), the latter from Old English styrian ('to move, agitate'), from Proto-Germanic *sturjaną.

styrian Old English *sturjaną Proto-Germanic

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Topics

Verbs of Movement

# astir

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** əˈstɝ
**IPA (UK):** əˈstɜː

## Meanings
1. in a state of motion, excitement, or activity

## Examples
- By dawn the whole village was astir with preparations.

## Synonyms
- active
- awake
- bustling
- moving
- agog
- lively
- afoot

## Antonyms
- still
- quiet
- dormant
- motionless
- asleep

## Related Forms
- stir

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: styrian
- Root: *sturjaną

## Etymology
From a- ('on, in') + stir (movement, commotion), the latter from Old English styrian ('to move, agitate'), from Proto-Germanic *sturjaną.

## AI Etymology
Astir is from a- ('on, in') + stir (movement, commotion), the latter from Old English styrian ('to move, agitate'), from Proto-Germanic *sturjaną. Important recorded forms include styrian (Old English) and *sturjaną (Proto-Germanic). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers in a state of motion, excitement, or activity. The wider family includes related words such as stir.

## Topics
- Verbs of Movement

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astir

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