Where does “every” come from?

Every comes from Old English ǣfre ǣlċ, a combination meaning "always each" that developed into the modern sense of "each one without exception."

every (English): of a countable group (considered individually), without exception

Definitions

  1. of a countable group (considered individually), without exception

Ancestry of “every”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglisheveryAlternative form of everich
2Old Englishǣlċ
3Old Englishǣġhwylċeach, every, any, all
4Proto-Germanicaiwôever, always

Words derived from “every

Every word from Proto-Germanic aiwô