- soon (adv.)
- Old English sona "at once, immediately," from West Germanic *sæno (cf. Old Frisian son, Old Saxon sana, Old High German san, Gothic suns "soon"). Sense shifted early Middle English to "within a short time" through human nature (cf. anon). American English. Sooner for "Oklahoma native" is 1930, from the fact that in 1889 many settlers of the territory sneaked onto public land and staked their claims "sooner" than the legal date and time.