Where does “anything” come from?

Anything derives from Middle English anything, from Old English ǣniġe þinga, combining Old English ǣniġ with þinga, ultimately from Proto-Germanic ainagaz and ainaz, traced to Proto-Indo-European óynos.

anything (English): Any object, act, state, event, or fact whatever;...

Definitions

  1. Any object, act, state, event, or fact whatever;...

Ancestry of “anything”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishanything—
2Old Englishaniþing—
3Old Englishǣniġany
4Proto-West Germanic*ainagonly, sole

Words derived from “anything”

Every word from Proto-West Germanic *ainag →Every word from Old English ǣniġ →Every word from Old English aniþing →