Etymograph

English

each

Each comes from Old English ǣlċ ‘each, every’, a contraction of ǣġhwelċ ‘each, every’.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣġhwelċ1‘each, every’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣlċ1‘each, every’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ech1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1999each1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English each
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, William S. Paasche, Thomas D. Kerker: “In one embodiment, there is an additional charge when…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣġhwelċWiktionary, English each‘each, every’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣlċWiktionary, English each‘each, every’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500echWiktionary, English each
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1999eachWiktionary, English each. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, William S. Paasche, Thomas D. Kerker: “In one embodiment, there is an additional charge when…”

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Today it means

det All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “each”. 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 / Old English ǣġhwelċ / each