Any

Part of speech: pronoun, adjective

Pronunciation: /ɛni/

Definitions

1. Used to refer to one or more things or people from a group without specifying which ones
2. Referring to one or several items or individuals from a given set without indicating specific options is a common practice
3. This term indicates an unspecified element or elements within a larger collection of choices or individuals present

Etymology: Before "any" meant "one out of many," the Old English word "ǣnig" was built on "ān," meaning "one," the same root that gave us "one" itself. The English form "any" grew from that: "ǣnig" became "ænig," then "eny," "ony," and "any," passing through a stage where the same word was also spelled with a "y" that reflects the "-y" ending in the older form "equivalent to one plus -y." Its family tree branches widely: Dutch "enig," German "einig," and West Frisian "iennich" all share the same ancestor and still carry senses of "some" or "any." Those German and Dutch cousins are the surprise. Speakers of those languages use words that look almost identical and mean much the same thing, showing how a simple idea of "oneness" could drift into "some" and then "any" across centuries of separate development. The sense of "one or more things" in English is the older, broader meaning, and "any" has kept that flexibility ever since.

Synonyms: some, either, whatever, whichever

Antonyms: none, no, nothing