Etymograph

English

something

Something comes from Middle English somþyng, from Old English sum þing ‘some thing’, a compound of some and thing.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150sum þing1‘some thing’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500somþyng1
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604something1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English something
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “Angelo. Yet giue leaue (my Lord,) That we may…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150sum þingWiktionary, English something‘some thing’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500somþyngWiktionary, English something
  3. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604somethingWiktionary, English something. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “Angelo. Yet giue leaue (my Lord,) That we may…”

A compound of some + thing

Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one’

Proto-Germanic *sumaz ‘some’

Proto-West Germanic *sum

Old English sum ‘some’

Middle English som

English some

Proto-Indo-European *tenkóm

Proto-Germanic *þingą ‘appointed time’

Proto-West Germanic *þing ‘court session’

Old English þing

Middle English thing

English thing

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sem- ‘one, whole’

same, similar, seem, simple, simply, single, sam, soft, simulation, sincerely, resemble, assemble, resemblance, simultaneous, simulate, singular, anomaly, sincerity, semblance, assimilate, anomalous, synapse, hyphen, homology, insincere, simile, homeopathic, simulacrum, sempre, synchronise, homolog, 46 more

Today it means

pron An uncertain or unspecified thing; one thing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “something”. 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 sum þing / something

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