Somehow

How to spell somehow

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce somehow

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does somehow mean?

1. adverbIn a way that is not known, stated, or easily explained.

Somehow in a sentence

• The cat somehow escaped from the locked room.

• We will somehow find the money to fix the roof.

Where does somehow come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Somehow is a homegrown English compound, built from two very old native words: some, which descends from the Old English sum meaning 'a certain one' or 'an unspecified amount', and how, from the Old English hu meaning 'in what way'. The two words began to be written together as a single adverb in the late 1500s, with the meaning 'in some way not known or not stated'. Both parts belong to the Germanic core of English rather than to any Latin or French borrowing, which is why the spelling is so plain and phonetic. The only mild trap is remembering that it is one solid word rather than two, since speakers naturally pause between the syllables. A close cousin is the parallel adverb somewhat, formed the same way from some plus what.

How the word is built

• some (an unspecified amount or way, from Old English sum)
• how (in what way, from Old English hu)