Archaic adverb meaning 'shortly after' or 'soon afterward,' primarily found in Middle English and Early Modern English literature.
From 'eftsoon' with added -s adverbial marker, common in Middle English. The plural-like suffix intensified or modified the original meaning in now-archaic grammatical constructions.
The -s ending on 'eftsoons' isn't a plural—it's a ghostly grammar rule where adverbs got an 's' marker (like 'backwards,' 'towards'), showing how English syntax has radically simplified since Shakespeare.
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