anybody English · revision 4642

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1300}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈen.iˌbɒd.i/, US /ˈen.iˌbɑː.di/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[any]] and [[body]] “person”,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) at first written as two parts, ani bodi.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Any person: about 1300 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) the 14th century in Merriam-Webster,^(MWU 2024) 1490 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The spelling as one word is attested by 1826.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) In affirmative expressions it came to mean, depreciatively, an ordinary person, a person of no account, from 1826,^(OED 1989) and in the opposite sense, as in ''everybody who is anybody'', a person of some importance.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) The colloquial phrase ''anybody's game'' or ''anybody's race'', a contest whose result is uncertain, is from 1840.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – any person.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1826 – written as one word.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1826 – an ordinary person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1840 – ''anybody's game''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # Any person; [[anyone]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person of some importance: ''anybody who is anybody''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An ordinary [[person]], of no special importance.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nobody]]

+ * [[everybody]]

+ * [[somebody]]

+ * [[anywhere]]

+ * [[anything]]

+ * [[anyhow]]

+ * [[anyone]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}