same

Pronunciation

• IPA: /seɪm/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English same,^[2][3] probably borrowed from Old Norse samr (“same”) (feminine and neuter sama),^{[2][4][3][5][6]} from Proto-Germanic *samaz,^[4] from Proto-Indo-European *samos (“same”), a suffixed form of *sem- (“one; as one, together”).^[4][2] Barnhart thinks it was partly abstracted from the Old English adverbial phrase swā same (“likewise, the same as”), with Scandinavian influence.^[7][8] It is cognate with Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌼𐌰 (sama), Old High German sama,^[4][7] Ancient Greek ὁμός (homós, “same”) and Sanskrit सम (samá, “level, equal, same”),^[9][10][6] and related to Latin similis (“like”) and simul (“together”).^[9][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Identical, equal; not different (probably about 1200, in the Ormulum; 13th century in Merriam-Webster).^[9][3]

Semantic evolution

Old English seems to have lost the adjective except in the phrase swā same;^[4][8] the Middle English word, which the OED calls the ordinary term for identity, is considered mostly Norse.^[4][11] It replaced the native synonym ilk.^[4][5] As a pronoun, “the person or thing just mentioned”, it is recorded from about 1300 (1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne).^[4][9] Middle English also used same as an adverb meaning “together”, as in comen same, to gather.^[4] The adverb the same, in the same way, dates from 1766.^[3][10] Later phrases include all the same, nevertheless (1803), same here (1895) and same difference (1945).^[4]

Timeline

• about 1200 – identical (Ormulum).^[9]
• 1303 – as a pronoun.^[9][4]
• 1766 – as an adverb.^[3][10]
• 1803 – all the same.^[4]
• 1895 – same here.^[4]
• 1945 – same difference.^[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Being the very one; identical.
2. Alike in kind, quality, amount or degree; similar.
3. Conforming in every detail (with as).
4. Being the one already mentioned; aforesaid.

Pronoun

1. The identical person or thing, or one like it.
2. (chiefly commercial or legal) The thing just mentioned; it.

Adverb

1. In the same way (usually with the).

Word family

• all the same

Related words

• similar
• simple
• single
• some
• homo-
• ilk
• seem

Usage notes

Using same or the same for it (“please remit same”) belongs mainly to commercial and legal writing; the American Heritage Dictionary notes that it often sounds stilted, though it occurs in informal phrases such as lack of same and in the wartime message “Sighted sub, sank same”.^[12][13] Random House distinguishes same, identical, from similar, alike only in some respects.^[14]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
10. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
13. ^ Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
14. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House