somebody English · revision 2915

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1303|origins=en some, en body}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈsʌm.bə.di/, US /ˈsʌmˌbɑː.di/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[some]] and [[body]], “person”,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) written separately in Middle English, sum body, and joined from the 16th century.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An unknown or unnamed person: 1303 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 1300 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A person of note or importance, often used sarcastically, is from before 1566,^(OED 1989) the 1560s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Used in place of a name that is not to be spoken, occasionally of the Devil, it is from about 1600.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Somebody else'', “some other person”, is from the 1640s,^(Etymonline) and in the sense “a romantic rival”, as in ''there is somebody else'', from 1911.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1303 – an unknown person.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1566 – an important person.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – in place of a name.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – ''somebody else''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1911 – a romantic rival.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # An unknown or unnamed person; [[someone]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person of importance: ''she wanted to be somebody''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nobody]]

+ * [[everybody]]

+ * [[anybody]]

+ * [[somewhere]]

+ * [[something]]

+ * [[some]]

+ * [[body]]

+ * [[someone]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Somebody'' and ''someone'' are interchangeable.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}