Emily Dickinson Lexicon

LONG, adv.

1. To a great extent in space; as, a long extended line.
2. To a great extent in time; as, they that tarry long at the wine. Prov. xxiii. When the trumpet soundeth long. Exod. xix. So in composition we say, long-expected, long-forgot.
3. At a point of duration far distant, either prior or posterior; as, not long before; not long after; long before the foundation of Rome; long after the conquest of Gaul by Julius Cesar.
4. Through the whole extent or duration of. The God who fed me all my life long to this day. Gen. xlviii. The bird of dawning singeth all night long. – Spenser.