all

Reading level: easy

Estimated CEFR level: A1 — Beginner

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective quantifier; used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
  2. adjective completely given to or absorbed by
  3. adverb to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly')

Etymology

From Middle English all, from Old English eall, from Proto-West Germanic *all, from Proto-Germanic *allaz, of uncertain origin but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“all”). Cognates Cognate with Scots a, a', aa, aal, aw (“all”), Yola aal, al, all, aul (“all”), North Frisian aal, aale, ale, ali, åle (“all”), Saterland Frisian al (“already”), aal (“all”), West Frisian alle (“all”), Dutch al (“all”), German and Luxembourgish all (“all”), Vilamovian oły, ołły (“all”), Yiddish אַלע (ale, “all”), Danish al (“all”), Faroese and Icelandic allur (“all”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish all (“all”), Norwegian Nynorsk aillj, all (“all”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐍃 (alls, “all”); also Breton and Welsh holl (“all”), Cornish oll (“all”), Irish alig, eile, uile, uileag, uilig (“all”), Manx ooilley (“all”), Scottish Gaelic uile, uileag (“all”), Lithuanian aliái (“every”), Armenian ողջ (oġǰ, “entire, whole”). The dialectal sense “all gone” is a calque of German alle. The use in who all, where all etc. also has equivalents in German (see alles).

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