every (English)

Where does "every" come from?

The word "every" is a compound that evolved from the Old English "ǣfre ǣlċ," which literally meant "ever each." This Old English phrase combined "ever", originally rooted in terms for "life" or "eternity", with "each," which itself stems from even older Germanic roots meaning "of what kind or body." Over time, these combined elements fused in Middle English to become the modern term we use to signify all members of a group without exception.

Full etymology tree

every (English), 'All of a countable group (considered individually), without exception.'
- inherited every (Middle English), 'alternative form of everich'
  - inherited ǣfre ǣlċ (Old English)
    - compound ǣfre (Old English), 'ever'
    - compound ǣġhwelċ (Old English), 'each, every'
      - inherited hwelċ (Old English), 'which'
        inherited *hwilīkaz (Proto-Germanic), 'what kind of, what sort of'
        compound *hwaz (Proto-Germanic), 'who, what'
        inherited *kʷos (Proto-Indo-European), 'See *kʷís.'
        compound *-līkaz (Proto-Germanic), '-like, -ly. Forms adjectives from nouns and adjectives with the sense of 'similar to, characteristic of'.'
        inherited *leyg- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to jump around, run around'

Direct ancestors

Updated June 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris