English

some

/sʌm/
A certain number (multiple but not all).

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    Origin

    From Middle English som, sum, from Old English sum (“some, a certain one”), from Proto-West Germanic *sum, from Proto-Germanic *sumaz (“some, a certain one”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one, whole”).

    Cognate Scots sum, some (“some”), North Frisian som, sam, säm (“some”), West Frisian sommige, somlike (“some”), dialectal Dutch som, saom (“some”), standard Dutch sommige (“some”), Low German somige (“some”), German dialectal summige (“some”), Danish somme (“some”), Swedish somlig (“some”), Norwegian sum, som (“some”), Icelandic sumur (“some”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌼𐍃 (sums, “one, someone”). More at same.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*sem- “one, whole”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishsom
      • inheritedOld Englishsum “some, a certain one”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*sum
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*sumaz “some, a certain one”

    Related: Scots sum, North Frisian som, West Frisian sommige, Dutch som, Dutch sommige, Low German somige, Danish somme, Swedish somlig, Norwegian sum, Icelandic sumur, Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌼𐍃

    Words built on it: -some, something, some something or other

    Sources