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Added 9 October 2026

something

/ˈsʌm.θɪŋ/ pronoun

In Latin: aliquid, quiddam Wiktionary

pronoun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about something at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An uncertain or unspecified thing; one thing.
I must have forgotten to pack something, but I can't think what.
A quality to a moderate degree.
The performance was something of a disappointment.
A talent or quality that is difficult to specify.
She has a certain something.

adjective

Having a characteristic that the speaker cannot specify.

adverb

Somewhat; to a degree.
The baby looks something like his father.
Used to adverbialise a following adjective
I miss them something terrible/rotten. (I miss them terribly)

verb

Designates an action whose name is forgotten by, unknown or unimportant to the user, e.g. from words of a song.

Origin

From Middle English somþyng, some-thing, som thing, sum thinge, sum þinge, from Old English sum þing (literally “some thing”), equivalent to some + thing. Compare Old English āwiht (“something”, literally “some thing, any thing”), Swedish någonting (“something”, literally “some thing, any thing”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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