English

something

/ˈsʌm.θɪŋ/
An uncertain or unspecified thing; one thing.

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    Origin

    From Middle English somþyng, some-thing, som thing, sum thinge, sum þinge, from Old English sum þing (literally “some thing”), equivalent to some + thing. Compare Old English āwiht (“something”, literally “some thing, any thing”), Swedish någonting (“something”, literally “some thing, any thing”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishsomþyng
      • derivedOld Englishsum “some, a certain one”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*sum
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*sumaz “some, a certain one”
    • surface analysisEnglishsome “A certain number (multiple but not all).”
    • surface analysisEnglishthing “That which is considered to exist as a separate entity, object, quality or concept.”

    Related: Swedish någonting

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

    Sources