any
English
Etymology
From Middle English any, eny, ony, ani, aniȝ, eniȝ, æniȝ, from Old English ǣniġ (“any”), from Proto-West Germanic *ainīg, *ainag, from Proto-Germanic *ainagaz, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one”), equivalent to one + -y. Cognate to Saterland Frisian eenich (“some”), West Frisian iennich (“only”), Dutch enig (“any, some”), Afrikaans enig (“any”), German Low German enig (“some”), German einig (“some”), Italian unico (“unique”), French unique (“unique”). Doublet of unique.
Pronunciation
- (Conservative RP) IPA(key): /ˈɛnɪ/
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɛni/, (obsolete, dialectal and historical) /ˈæni/
- (Ireland, Newfoundland) IPA(key): /ˈæni/
- (Ireland, Newfoundland, UK obsolete) Homophone: Annie
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈɛni/
Audio (US) (file) - (pin–pen merger) IPA(key): /ˈɪni/
- (US) Homophone: innie (pin-pen)
- Rhymes: -ɛni, -æni
Adverb
any (not comparable)
- To even the slightest extent, at all.
- I will not remain here any longer.
- If you get any taller, you'll start having to duck through doorways!
- That doesn't bother me any. (chiefly US usage)
- 1934, Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance, Bantam, published 1992, →ISBN, page 58:
- I wasn't any too easy in my mind.
- 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 104:
- 'That wouldn't surprise me any.'
Translations
Determiner
any
- (chiefly in the negative) One at all; at least one; at least one kind of; some; a positive quantity of.
- Do you have any biscuits?
- Do you have any food?
- I haven't got any money.
- It won't do you any good.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew xi:27:
- No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
- In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.
- A/an or each ... of a particular kind, no matter its identity or nature.
- Choose any item you want.
- Any person may apply.
- Press any key to continue.
- Our plan will fit any model.
- 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking. In complexion fair, and with blue or gray eyes, he was tall as any Viking, as broad in the shoulder.
- 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.
Usage notes
In sense 1, "any" is combined with an uncountable or plural countable noun; while in sense 2, it's combined with a singular countable noun.
Derived terms
- any and all
- any and every
- anybody
- anycast
- any day
- any fule kno
- any hole's a goal
- anyhow
- any longer
- any minute now
- any moment now
- anymore, any more
- any nook or cranny
- any number of
- any old
- anyon
- anyone
- any other business
- anyplace
- anypony
- any port in a storm
- any press is good press
- anyroad, any road
- anyshit
- anything
- anytime, any time
- any time now
- any time soon
- Anytown
- anyway, any way
- any way one cuts it
- any way one slices it
- anywhat
- anywhen
- anywhence
- anywhere
- any which way
- anywhither
- anywho
- anywhom
- anywise
- at any cost
- at any event
- at any given moment
- at any hand
- at any rate
- by any chance
- by any means
- by any stretch
- for any sake
- getting any
- in any case
- in any event
- just any
- know any better
- not by any manner of means
- on any view
- with any luck
Translations
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Pronoun
any
- Any thing(s) or person(s).
- Any may apply.
Translations
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References
- “any”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Catalan
Etymology
Inherited from Latin annus, from Proto-Italic *atnos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂et-no-, probably from *h₂et- (“to go”).
Noun
any m (plural anys)
- year
- un home de 26 anys ― a 26-year-old man
- Quants anys tens? ― How old are you?
- Bon any nou! ― Happy new year!
Further reading
- “any” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “any” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Middle English
Old Tupi
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.ˈnɨ/
References
- Navarro, Eduardo de Almeida; 2013; Dicionário do Tupi Antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil; São Paulo: Global.
Yola
Adjective
any
- Alternative form of aany
- 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 86:
- Yith w'had any lhuck, oor naame wode b' zung,
- If we had any luck, our name would have been sung
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 86