Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Along \A*long"\ (?; 115), adv. [OE. along, anlong, AS. andlang,
   along; pref. and- (akin to OFris. ond-, OHG. ant-, Ger. ent-,
   Goth. and-, anda-, L. ante, Gr. ?, Skr. anti, over against) +
   lang long. See {Long}.]
   1. By the length; in a line with the length; lengthwise.

            Some laid along . . . on spokes of wheels are hung.
                                                  --Dryden.

   2. In a line, or with a progressive motion; onward; forward.

            We will go along by the king's highway. --Numb. xxi.
                                                  22.

            He struck with his o'ertaking wings, And chased us
            south along.                          --Coleridge.

   3. In company; together.

            He to England shall along with you.   --Shak.

   {All along}, all through the course of; during the whole
      time; throughout. ``I have all along declared this to be a
      neutral paper.'' --Addison.

   {To get along}, to get on; to make progress, as in business.
      ``She 'll get along in heaven better than you or I.''
      --Mrs. Stowe.



   Note: In the ancient phrases, all too dear, all too much, all
         so long, etc., this word retains its appropriate sense
         or becomes intensive.

   2. Even; just. (Often a mere intensive adjunct.) [Obs. or
      Poet.]

            All as his straying flock he fed.     --Spenser.

            A damsel lay deploring All on a rock reclined.
                                                  --Gay.

   {All to}, or {All-to}. In such phrases as ``all to rent,''
      ``all to break,'' ``all-to frozen,'' etc., which are of
      frequent occurrence in our old authors, the all and the to
      have commonly been regarded as forming a compound adverb,
      equivalent in meaning to entirely, completely, altogether.
      But the sense of entireness lies wholly in the word all
      (as it does in ``all forlorn,'' and similar expressions),
      and the to properly belongs to the following word, being a
      kind of intensive prefix (orig. meaning asunder and
      answering to the LG. ter-, HG. zer-). It is frequently to
      be met with in old books, used without the all. Thus
      Wyclif says, ``The vail of the temple was to rent:'' and
      of Judas, ``He was hanged and to-burst the middle:'' i.
      e., burst in two, or asunder.

   {All along}. See under {Along}.

   {All and some}, individually and collectively, one and all.
      [Obs.] ``Displeased all and some.'' --Fairfax.

   {All but}.
      (a) Scarcely; not even. [Obs.] --Shak.
      (b) Almost; nearly. ``The fine arts were all but
          proscribed.'' --Macaulay.

   {All hollow}, entirely, completely; as, to beat any one all
      hollow. [Low]

   {All one}, the same thing in effect; that is, wholly the same
      thing.

   {All over}, over the whole extent; thoroughly; wholly; as,
      she is her mother all over. [Colloq.]

   {All the better}, wholly the better; that is, better by the
      whole difference.

   {All the same}, nevertheless. ``There they [certain
      phenomena] remain rooted all the same, whether we
      recognize them or not.'' --J. C. Shairp. ``But Rugby is a
      very nice place all the same.'' --T. Arnold. -- See also
      under {All}, n.

Source : WordNet®

all along
     adv : all the time or over a period of time; "She had known all
           along"; "the hope had been there all along" [syn: {right
           along}]