such

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English such, also swich, swuch and swulch,^[2][3][4] inherited from Old English swylc, also swilc and swelc,^[4][5][3] from Proto-Germanic *swalīkaz (“so formed”),^[4][3][5] a compound of *swa (“so”), the source of so, and *likan (“form, body”), the source of gelīc (“similar”) and of like.^[4][3][6] It is cognate with Old Frisian sēlik, Old Saxon sulīk, Dutch zulk, Old High German sulīh, German solch, Old Norse slíkr and Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (swaleiks).^[4][3][7] The modern form results from sound changes: swilc was rounded to swylc from the late 9th century and a spelling swulc appears from about 1000; these gave swulch, and the loss of w and l gave such.^[5][3] The same changes in swelc and swilc gave the dialect forms sech and sich.^[5][3] Barnhart compares the development of each and which.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of that kind, of the kind described: Barnhart dates the Old English adjective to about 725, in Beowulf;^[3] the OED's first records are in the Blickling Homilies.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Etymologically the word means "so formed".^[6][8][3] In Old English it was a pronoun and adjective, and could also mean "just as, as if", a use which the OED follows to about 1275.^[4][5] With a singular noun, bare such gave way to such a, recorded from about 1275,^[5] while the reverse order a such, like French un tel, lasted only from before 1240 to 1307.^[5] From 1297 such could open a clause and sum up what was just said, the pattern of such is life.^[5] The sense "similar, of the same class" appears about 1200 and is now mostly archaic,^[5] and the sense "the previously mentioned" appears before 1400.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "of that kind; of the like kind".^[9] Middle English also had suchkin and suchwise, both meaning "of such a kind".^[4] Suchlike, from the early 15th century, is pleonastic, since the second part repeats what such already contains.^[4][10]

Timeline

• c. 725 – Old English swylc, adjective, in Beowulf.^[3]
• before 1200 – pronoun, swuch, in the Ancrene Riwle.^[3]
• c. 1200 – similar, of the same kind.^[5]
• before 1240 – a such (last recorded 1307).^[5]
• c. 1275 – such a.^[5]
• 1297 – at the head of a clause, summing up what was said.^[5]
• before 1400 – the previously mentioned.^[5]
• early 15th century – suchlike.^[4][7]
• 1530s – no such thing, not at all.^[4]

Meanings

Determiner

1. Of the kind already mentioned or about to be named: Such remarks do not help.^[11][2]
2. So great; of so high a degree: It was such a long wait.^[11][2]
3. such as: of the kind that is; for example: root vegetables such as turnips.^[2]

Pronoun

1. A person or thing of that kind, or those people or things: such is life.^[11][2]
2. and such: and similar people or things: nails, screws and such.^[11][2]
3. as such: in the capacity named, or in itself: Money as such does not interest her.^[11]

Adverb

1. To so great a degree; so: I have never seen such tall trees.^[2]

Word family

• nonesuch
• suchlike
• suchness
• such and such

Related words

• so
• like
• alike
• ilk
• each
• which

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins