each

Pronunciation

• IPA: /iːtʃ/^[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English ech, elch,^[3][4] inherited from Old English ǣlc (“any, all, every, each”),^[5][4] short for ā-gelīc (“ever alike”), formed from Old English ā (“ever”) + gelīc (“alike”) (see aye and alike),^[5][4][6] from a West Germanic expression found also in Dutch elk and German jeglich (“each, every”).^[5][7][8] The l was lost as in which and such,^[9][10] but survives in Scots ilk.^[10][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Every one of a group considered separately; also any, all (Old English ǣlc, before 830).^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Old English ǣlc was used as we now use every (itself a compound of each) or all, and Etymonline attributes its modern distributive use to the influence of Latin quisque.^[5][11][10] With a plural noun and without distributive force it meant simply “all, both”, a use lost by the 17th century,^[12] and after without it meant “any” until about 1300.^[12][11] The spelling each began to appear gradually in the late 1500s.^[13][5] Each other is a compound reciprocal pronoun, sometimes restricted to two people,^[14][7] and each way, in betting, means for a win and for a place.^[14][7]

Timeline

• before 830 – Old English ǣlc.^[4]
• c. 1200 – elch, æche, in Layamon.^[13]
• Old English to 17th century – all, both, with a plural noun.^[12]
• late 1500s – the spelling each.^[4][5]

Modern meaning

Determiner

1. Every one of two or more, considered separately: each person cast a vote.

Pronoun

1. Every one of a group individually; each one: to each his own.

Adverb

1. For or to each one; apiece: ten cents each.

Word family

• each other

Related words

• every
• ilk
• aye
• alike
• such
• which

Usage notes

When the subject of a sentence begins with each, the traditional rule holds that the verb and following pronouns are singular (each of the suites has its own entrance), but when each follows a plural subject they stay plural (the suites each have their own entrances).^[3][15] Random House distinguishes each, which directs attention to the separate members in turn, from every, which stresses inclusiveness.^[15]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
13. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
14. ^ a b The Chambers Dictionary (2008), 11th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap
15. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House