Etymograph

English

any

Any comes from Middle English any, from Old English ǣniġ, from Proto-Germanic *ainagaz ‘only’, ultimately from PIE *h₁óynos ‘one’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynos1‘one’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainaz2‘one’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainagaz2‘only’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ainīg2reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣniġ2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500any2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611any2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ainaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English any
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynosWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ainaz‘one’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainazWiktionary, English any‘one’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainagazWiktionary, English any‘only’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ainīgWiktionary, English anyreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣniġWiktionary, English any
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500anyWiktionary, English any
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611anyWiktionary, English any. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’

union, unique, universal, unite, null, uno, triune, 21 more

through Proto-Germanic *ainaz ‘one’

one, no, only, an, none, eleventh, 3 more

Today it means

adv To even the slightest extent; at all.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “any”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *ainaz. 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-Indo-European *h₁óynos / any

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