some
[suhm; unstressed suh m]
Spell Syllables
Word Origin
adjective
1. being an undetermined or unspecified one:
Some person may object.
2. (used with plural nouns) certain:
Some days I stay home.
3. of a certain unspecified number, amount, degree, etc.:
to some extent.
4. unspecified but considerable in number, amount, degree, etc.:
We talked for some time. He was here some weeks.
5. Informal. of impressive or remarkable quality, consequence, extent, etc.:
That was some storm.
pronoun
6. certain persons, individuals, instances, etc., not specified:
Some think he is dead.
7. an unspecified number, amount, etc., as distinguished from the rest or in addition:
He paid a thousand dollars and then some.
adverb
8. (used with numerals and with words expressing degree, extent, etc.) approximately; about:
Some 300 were present.
9. Informal. to some degree or extent; somewhat :
I like baseball some. She is feeling some better today.
10. Informal. to a great degree or extent; considerably:
That's going some.
Origin of some
Middle EnglishOld English
900before 900; Middle English (adj. and pronoun); Old English sum orig., someone; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle High German sum, Old Norse sumr, Gothic sums
Can be confused
some, sum (see usage note at the current entry)
Usage note
As pronouns, both some and any may be used in affirmative or negative questions: Will you(won't you) have some? Do you (don't you) have any? But some is used in affirmative statements and answers: You may have some. Yes, I'd like some.And in negative statements and answers, any is the usual choice: I don't care for any. No, I can't take any.
-some1
1. a native English suffix formerly used in the formation of adjectives:
quarrelsome; burdensome.
Origin
Middle English; Old English -sum; akin to Gothic -sama, German -sam; see same
-some2
1. a collective suffix used with numerals:
twosome; threesome.
Origin
Middle English -sum, Old English sum; special use of some (pronoun)
-some3
1. a combining form meaning “body,” used in the formation of compound words:
chromosome.
Expand
Also, -soma.
Origin Expand
< Greek sôma body; see soma1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2015.
British Dictionary definitions for some
some
/sʌm; unstressed səm/
determiner
1. (a) certain unknown or unspecified: some lunatic drove into my car, some people never learn
(as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural): some can teach and others can't
2. an unknown or unspecified quantity or amount of: there's some rice on the table, he owns some horses
(as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural): we'll buy some
3. a considerable number or amount of: he lived some years afterwards
a little: show him some respect
4. (usually stressed) ( informal) an impressive or remarkable: that was some game!
5. a certain amount (more) (in the phrases some more and (informal) and then some)
6. about; approximately: he owes me some thirty pounds
adverb
7. (US, not standard) to a certain degree or extent: I guess I like him some
Word Origin
Old English sum; related to Old Norse sumr, Gothic sums, Old High German sum some, Sanskrit samá any, Greek hamē somehow
-some1
suffix
1. characterized by; tending to: awesome, tiresome
Word Origin
Old English -sum; related to Gothic -sama, German -sam
-some2
suffix
1. indicating a group of a specified number of members: threesome
Word Origin
Old English sum, special use of some (determiner)
-some3
/-səʊm/
combining form
1. a body: chromosome
Word Origin
from Greek sōma body
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for some
adj.
Old English sum "some, a, a certain one, something, a certain quantity; a certain number;" with numerals "out of" (e.g. sum feowra "one of four"); from Proto-Germanic *suma- (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old High German sum, Old Norse sumr, Gothic sums), from PIE *smm-o-, suffixed form of root *sem- (1) "one," also "as one" (adv.), "together with" (see same ). For substitution of -o- for -u-, see come.
The word has had greater currency in English than in the other Teutonic languages, in some of which it is now restricted to dialect use, or represented only by derivatives or compounds .... [OED]
As a pronoun from c.1100; as an adverb from late 13c. Meaning "remarkable" is attested from 1808, American English colloquial. A possessive form is attested from 1560s, but always was rare. Many combination forms ( somewhat, sometime, somewhere) were in Middle English but often written as two words till 17-19c. Somewhen is rare and since 19c. used almost exclusively in combination with the more common compounds; somewho "someone" is attested from late 14c. but did not endure. Scott (1816) has somegate "somewhere, in some way, somehow," and somekins "some kind of a" is recorded from c.1200. Get some "have sexual intercourse" is attested 1899 in a quote attributed to Abe Lincoln from c.1840.
-some
word-forming element used in making adjectives from nouns or adjectives (and sometimes verbs) and meaning "tending to; causing; to a considerable degree," from Old English -sum, identical with som (see some ). Cf. Old Frisian -sum, German -sam, Old Norse -samr ; also related to same.
suffix added to numerals meaning "a group of (that number)," e.g. twosome, from pronoun use of Old English sum "some" (see some ). Originally a separate word used with the genitive plural (e.g. sixa sum "six-some"); the inflection disappeared in Middle English and the pronoun was absorbed. Use of some with a number meaning "approximately" also was in Old English.
word-forming element meaning "the body," Modern Latin, from Greek soma "the body" (see somato- ).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
some in Medicine Expand
-some suff.
Body: centrosome.
Chromosome: autosome.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Slang definitions & phrases for some Expand
solid
adjective
Wonderful; remarkable; great, groovy • Said to have been used regularly by Louis Armstrong : Man, what solid jive/ That's solid, Willie, let's get together and blow (1920+ Jazz musicians)
The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Cite This Source
Idioms and Phrases with some
some
see:
and then some
catch some rays
catch some z's
dig up (some dirt)
in a (some) sense
in some measure
one of these days (some day)
take some doing
to some degree
win some, lose some
