Entry · catalog no. 1073
steady
/ /
adverb · nationwide ·
✓ Verified
1.
Marks an action carried on intensely and without let-up. "They be steady talking" means talking on and on, at length, and probably to somebody's aggravation.
“He steady running his mouth while the man's trying to work.”
Origin & Attribution
Identified and analyzed by John Baugh in "Steady: Progressive Aspect in Black Vernacular English," American Speech, 1984 — one of the clearest demonstrations that African American English carries aspect distinctions Standard English simply lacks.
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide / diaspora
nationwide ·
Spoken by
$STEADYThe Record · cultural traction
▲ 26 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
60/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
John Baugh, "Steady: Progressive Aspect in Black Vernacular English," American Speech 59:1 — journal article · 1984
submitted
■
+ Cite a sourceLisa J. Green, African American English: A Linguistic Introduction — book · 2002
submitted
See also