something

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsʌm.θɪŋ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sum thing, inherited from Old English sum þing (“a certain but unknown thing”),^[2][3][4] from Old English sum + þing (see some and thing).^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Some unspecified or indeterminate thing (c. 1000).^[6][4]

Semantic evolution

The phrase was written with a hyphen from about 1300 and as one word from the 17th century.^[2] From about 1200 it also meant a certain part or amount, often a small one, a slight trace.^[2][6] It was formerly common as an adverb meaning “to some degree, rather” (13th century),^[2][7][3] and in informal speech it now also means “extremely”, as in swears something awful.^[3][8] The sense of some food or drink dates from the 1570s (1778 for to take something in the OED),^[2][6] and that of a person or thing of importance from the 1580s.^[2][4] Later uses include make something of (1778), or something (1814) and something for nothing (1816).^[2][6] It stands in for a forgotten or unimportant name (1764),^[6] and as a combining form -something it marks an unspecified age or number, as in thirty-something.^[3][1]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – an unspecified thing.^[6]
• c. 1200 – a part or amount.^[2][6]
• 13th century – as an adverb, somewhat.^[7][3]
• 1570s – some food or drink.^[2]
• 1580s – a person or thing of importance.^[2]
• 1764 – a stand-in for a forgotten name.^[6]
• 1814 – or something.^[2][6]
• 1816 – something for nothing.^[2]

Modern meaning

Pronoun

1. A thing that is not specified, known or remembered.
2. An amount or part, often a small one; a trace.
3. A thing having much the same qualities as another, as in something of a poet.

Noun

1. A remarkable or important person or thing.

Adverb

1. Somewhat; to some degree.
2. (informal) Extremely, as in something awful.

Related words

• thing
• nothing
• anything
• everything
• somebody
• someone
• somewhere
• some
• somewhat

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin