English

each

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

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    Origin

    From Middle English eche, elche, ilch, from Old English ǣlċ, contraction of ǣġhwelċ. Comparable to aye + alike.

    Compare Scots ilk, elk (“each, every”), Saterland Frisian älk (“each”), West Frisian elk, elts (“each”), Dutch elk (“each”), Low German elk, ellik (“each”), German Low German elk, elke (“each, every”), German jeglicher (“any”). By surface analysis, Old English ā + which.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*h₂ey- “life, vital force; long time; eternity”
    • rootProto-Indo-European*kʷ-
    • rootProto-Indo-European*leyg- “to jump, spring, play”
    • inheritedMiddle Englisheche
      • inheritedOld Englishǣlċ
        • derivedOld Englishǣġhwelċ
          • inheritedProto-West Germanic*aiwgahwalīk
    • surface analysisOld Englishā “ever, always”
    • surface analysisEnglishwhich “What, of those mentioned or implied.”

    Related: Scots ilk, Saterland Frisian älk, West Frisian elk, Dutch elk, Low German elk, German Low German elk, German jeglicher

    Words built on it: the, each other

    Sources