ænig

Forms

ǣniġ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *ainag, from Proto-Germanic *ainagaz (“only, sole”), a derivative of *ainaz (“one”).^[1][2] Orel lists Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐌰𐌷𐌰 (ainaha, “only”), Old Norse einigr, Old Frisian ēnich and Old Saxon ēnig, and compares the parallel formation Latin ūnicus (“only”).^[2] Köbler also cites Old High German einīg.^[3] Bosworth and Toller analyse the Old English word as ān (“one”) with the adjective ending -iġ.^[4]

Proto-Germanic /ai/ became ⟨ā⟩, and i-umlaut before the suffix turned it into ⟨ǣ⟩, while the numeral itself kept ⟨ā⟩.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest dated record is the will of the reeve Abba, of 833×839, which survives in its contemporary single sheet: his kin is to hold the land ða hwile þe God wille ðæt ðeara ænig sie þe londes weorðe sie “as long as God wills that there be any of them who is worthy of the land”.^[6][7] The Vespasian Psalter gloss of the mid-ninth century has ne aspringað ængum gode “they shall not lack any good” for the Latin “non deficient omni bono”.^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

It means “any, anyone”, as an adjective and as a noun, and renders Latin ullus, quisquam and aliquis.^[4][3] With a genitive it means “any of”, and the phrase ǣniġe þinga means “in any way”.^[9][10] Toller records the sense “only” in a riddle and in the metrical psalms,^[11] and asks whether a passage in a saint's life has a form meaning “single, sole”, comparing the Old Saxon and Old High German words for “only”.^[12] With the negative particle it formed nǣniġ (“none”), from ne ǣniġ.^[13]

The word continued as Middle English ani, with the shortened vowel of the inflected forms, beside a form aniȝ with the vowel of ān,^[14] now English any.^[15]

Timeline

• 833×839 – ðeara ænig “any of them” in the will of Abba, a contemporary single sheet.^[6][7]
• s. ix med. – ængum gode “any good” in the Vespasian Psalter gloss.^[8][7]
• 890×897 – in the Pastoral Care (Hatton 20).^[16][7]
• s. x/xi – ǣniġe þinga “by any means” in the Beowulf manuscript.^[9]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. anyone, any one; with the genitive, any of.^[12][9]

Adjective

1. any.^[4][10]
2. (rare) only.^[11]

Word family

• nǣniġ

Descendants

• Middle English ani (→ English any; English ony; Scots onie)^[1]

Related words

• ān

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 8
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ǣnig
4. ^ a b c Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 16
5. ^ Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 5.79
6. ^ a b The Electronic Sawyer: Online Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Charters, revised ed. by S. E. Kelly and R. Rushforth, King's College London / University of Cambridge, esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk, p. S 1482
7. ^ a b c d e Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
8. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 329
9. ^ a b c Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. ǣniġ
10. ^ a b Sweet, Henry (1896), The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 27
11. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 755
12. ^ a b Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 17
13. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 707
14. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
15. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
16. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 499