English
only
Only comes from Old English ānlīċ ‘only’, from Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz ‘singular, alone’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynos1‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainaz2‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainalīkaz3‘singular, alone’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ānlīċ3‘only’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500oonly3
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600only3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ainaz
- 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz
- 3 Wiktionary, English only
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “Motley's the only wear.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynosWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ainaz‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainazWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz‘one’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainalīkazWiktionary, English only‘singular, alone’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ānlīċWiktionary, English only‘only’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500oonlyWiktionary, English only
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600onlyWiktionary, English only. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “Motley's the only wear.”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with only, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’
through Proto-Germanic *ainaz ‘one’
25 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
adj Alone in a category.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “only”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *ainaz, Proto-Germanic *ainalīkaz. 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 / only