adverbs - What does the word "momentarily" really mean?





When and how did “momentarily” come to mean “in a moment”, rather than “for a moment”?



Almost every time I fly, shortly (!) before arrival I hear a flight attendant say something like "We will be landing momentarily, please return to your seat." I understand that what is meant is "we will be landing a few minutes from now," but what I hear is "we will be landing for a short time, then immediately take off again."


So, what is the real meaning of "momentarily"?




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