Etymologically
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somebody

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:20. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsʌm.bə.di/, US /ˈsʌmˌbɑː.di/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of some and body, “person”,[2][3] written separately in Middle English, sum body, and joined from the 16th century.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An unknown or unnamed person: 1303 in the OED,[4] about 1300 in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

A person of note or importance, often used sarcastically, is from before 1566,[4] the 1560s in Etymonline.[2] Used in place of a name that is not to be spoken, occasionally of the Devil, it is from about 1600.[2][4] Somebody else, “some other person”, is from the 1640s,[2] and in the sense “a romantic rival”, as in there is somebody else, from 1911.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 1303 – an unknown person.[4]
  • before 1566 – an important person.[4]
  • c. 1600 – in place of a name.[2]
  • 1640s – somebody else.[2]
  • 1911 – a romantic rival.[2][4]

Modern meaning

Pronoun

  1. An unknown or unnamed person; someone.

Noun

  1. A person of importance: she wanted to be somebody.

Usage notes

Somebody and someone are interchangeable.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster