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everything

Etymology and origin of the English word everything

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 1225
Ultimate origin
Old English (ǣfre,ǣlc,þing)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English every
English everything

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈev.ri.θɪŋ/[1]

Etymology

It comes from the Middle English phrase every thing,[2][3] a compound, from English every + thing,[4][5] long written as two words.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

All things, all (about 1225).[6]

Semantic evolution

The HTOED dates the word from about 1225, while Etymonline and the OED give the late 14th century.[6][4][7] As in anything, something and nothing, the element thing has lost its separate meaning.[7] Etymonline defines the early sense as “all things, taken separately”.[4] The colloquial use for something of supreme importance (money isn't everything) is recorded by 1889,[4][7] and to have everything, “to have every attraction or advantage”, from 1845.[7] A humorous plural noun, everythings, appears from 1797.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1225 – all things.[6]
  • c. 1385 – the OED's first quotation.[7]
  • 1797 – noun, things of every kind (humorous).[7]
  • 1845 – to have everything.[7]
  • 1889 – something of supreme importance.[4]

Modern meaning

Pronoun

  1. All things, or all the things of a group.
  2. All that is relevant: told each other everything.
  3. The most important thing: money isn't everything.
  4. Life in general: how's everything?

Word family

  • theory of everything

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Everything.” Etymologically, 14 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/everything. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·