Etymograph

English

all

All comes from Middle English all, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *allaz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*allaz1reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*all1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150eall1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500all1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1579all1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English all
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1579, Edmund Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender: “All as his straying flock he fed.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*allazWiktionary, English allreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*allWiktionary, English allreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150eallWiktionary, English all
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500allWiktionary, English all
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1579allWiktionary, English all. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1579, Edmund Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender: “All as his straying flock he fed.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

old, else, adult, el, ultimate, element, ultra, elder, alien, alternate, outrage, ou, qualification, altitude, alter, ellen, adolescent, alumni, abolish, altar, alpine, alt, alias, alto, proletariat, auld, ulterior, retaliate, alimony, alum, alibi, altruism, alp, coalesce, aad, eld, parallax, altimeter, foetal, althea, 65 more

through Proto-West Germanic *all

as

Today it means

det Every individual or anything of the given class, with no exceptions (the noun or noun phrase denoting the class must be plural or uncountable).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “all”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *allaz / all

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