Etymology Explorer › Spanish

Where does “alguien” come from?

alguien (Spanish) comes from Spanish alguno, from Vulgar Latin alicunus, from Latin aliquis, from Latin aliquo, from Latin quō, from Latin quī, from Latin -cumque, from Latin cumque — whale, sea monster; abyss.

alguien (Spanish): someone, somebody; anyone, anybody

Definitions

  1. someone, somebody; anyone, anybody

Ancestry of “alguien”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishalgunosome, any; someone
2Vulgar Latinalicunussome
3Latinaliquissomeone, something, anyone, anything; some, any
4Latinaliquo—
5Latinquō—
6Latinquī—
7Latin-cumqueUsed to derive indefinite adjectives, adverbs and...
8Latincumquehowever, whenever, howsoever, whensoever
9Latincumwith, along with; at; -fold
10Old LatincomAlternative form of cum
11Proto-Italickomwith, along, at
12Proto-Indo-Europeanḱómbeside, near, by, with
13Proto-Indo-EuropeanḱeDeictic particle, here; Post-positional...
14Middle Englishkyt—
15Russianкитwhale; genitive plural of ки́та
16Old Church Slavonicкитъwhale
17Ancient Greekκῆτοςwhale, sea monster; abyss
Every word from Ancient Greek κῆτος →