Etymologically
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somewhere

Etymology and origin of the English word somewhere

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 1200
Ultimate origin
English (some,where)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈsʌm.weə/, US /ˈsʌm.wer/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English somwher,[2] a compound from English some + where.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In or at an unspecified or unknown place: about 1200 in the OED,[4] the late 12th century in Etymonline.[3]

Semantic evolution

“To some unspecified place”, usually with go, is from about 1403.[4] “Elsewhere” is from about 1300,[3] and somewhere else from the late 14th century in Etymonline[3] or about 1500 in the OED.[4] In some part of a book or other work is from 1634,[4] and “at some time about” a given date from 1839,[4] which led to the use for an approximate amount, “roughly”.[5][6] The noun, an unknown place, is from 1647.[2] Somewhere in France, used to name a place without identifying it for reasons of censorship, dates from the First World War.[3][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – in some place.[4]
  • c. 1300 – elsewhere.[3]
  • c. 1403 – to some place.[4]
  • 1634 – in some passage of a book.[4]
  • 1647 – noun.[2]
  • 1839 – at about a given date.[4]
  • 1915 – somewhere in France.[4]

Modern meaning

Adverb

  1. At, in or to a place that is not known or named.
  2. To a point of further progress: now we're getting somewhere.
  3. Approximately: somewhere around ten.

Noun

  1. An unknown or unspecified place.

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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
Cite this entry

“Somewhere.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/somewhere. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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