Any

How to spell any

3 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce any

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does any mean?

1. determinerUsed to refer to one or some of a thing or quantity, no matter how much or which one.

Any in a sentence

• The shop did not have any milk left on the shelves.

• Please let the office know if you have any questions about the contract.

Where does any come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends from Old English ǣnig, meaning 'one of some kind' or 'any', which was built on the root ān, the ancestor of our modern word 'one', plus a suffix that turned it into a word of quantity. Because it grew straight out of the Germanic stock of English, it has close cousins across the family, such as Dutch enig and German einig, all rooted in the same idea of 'one'. Over the centuries the pronunciation drifted: the vowel that once matched 'one' softened into the short 'e' sound we say today, which is exactly why people sometimes pause over the spelling, since 'any' looks as though it should rhyme with 'many' yet starts from 'one'. The word settled into its current spelling and broad meaning, covering 'some amount' and 'no matter which', well before the modern era. It remains one of the oldest and most frequent quantity words in the language.

How the word is built

• an (one)
• -y (adjectival/quantity suffix); from Old English ǣnig 'one, any'