anything

English Online Dictionary. What means anything‎? What does anything mean?

English

Alternative forms

• any thing (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɛn.ɪ.θɪŋ/, /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/
• (Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈæn.i.θɪŋ/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈɛn.ɪ.θɪŋ/, /ˈɛn.i.θɪŋ/
• Hyphenation: an‧y‧thing

Etymology 1

From Middle English anything, enything, onything, from Late Old English aniþing, from earlier ǣniġ þing (literally “any thing”), equivalent to any +‎ thing.

Pronoun

anything

1. Any object, act, state, event, or fact whatsoever; a thing of any kind; something or other.

   Synonym: aught
2. (with “as” or “like”) Expressing an indefinite comparison.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

anything (plural anythings)

1. Someone or something of importance.

Related terms

Translations

Verb

anything (third-person singular simple present anythings, present participle anythinging, simple past and past participle anythinged)

1. (ambitransitive, colloquial) Used as a placeholder verb for any verb out of a set of related verbs. [from 19th c.]

See also

• something (verb)
• everything (verb)

Etymology 2

From Middle English anything, enything, onything, onythynge, from Old English ǣniġe þinga, ǣnġi þinga (literally “by any of things”), from ǣniġe, instrumental form of ǣniġ (“any”) + þinga, genitive plural of þing (“thing”).

Adverb

anything (not comparable)

1. In any way, any extent or any degree.

References

• “anything”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Thingyan