anyone
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈen.i.wʌn/[1]
Etymology
It is a compound, from English any + one,[2][3] written separately in Middle English, as any on or eny on.[4] Old English used ǣnigmon (“any man”) in the same sense.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
Any person: as two words since Old English according to Etymonline,[2] and in the 15th century according to Merriam-Webster, who dates the pronoun to about 1500.[4][5]
Semantic evolution
The pronoun was written as two words for centuries;[2][3] the Shorter Oxford finds the one-word form from the early 18th century,[3] and Etymonline from 1844.[2] It has the same meaning as anybody.[3][2]
Timeline
- 15th century – Middle English any on.[4]
- early 18th century – written as one word.[3]
- 1844 – one word, according to Etymonline.[2]
Modern meaning
Pronoun
- Any person at all; anybody.
Related words
Usage notes
The American Heritage Dictionary distinguishes anyone, “any person”, from any one, “whichever one of a group”: anyone may join admits everybody, any one may join admits a single person, and only any one can be followed by of.[6]
References
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin