each
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English eche, from Old English ǣlċ, contraction of ǣġhwelċ, from Proto-West Germanic *aiwgahwalīk (“each, every”). Compare Scots ilk, elk (“each, every”), Saterland Frisian älk (“each”), West Frisian elk, elts (“each”), Dutch elk (“each”), Low German elk, ellik (“each”), German Low German elk, elke (“each, every”), German jeglich (“any”).
Determiner
each
- All; every; qualifying a singular noun, indicating all examples of the thing so named seen as individual or separate items (compare every).
- 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
- Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
- Make sure you wash each bowl well.
- The sun comes up each morning and sets each night.
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Usage notes
- (all, every): The phrase beginning with each identifies a set of items wherein the words following each identify the individual elements by their shared characteristics. The phrase is grammatically singular in number, so if the phrase is the subject of a sentence, its verb is conjugated into a third-person singular form. Similarly, any pronouns that refer to the noun phrase are singular:
- Each candidate has 49 votes.
- Each voter must decide for herself.
Related terms
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations
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Pronoun
each
- Every one/thing individually or one by one.
- I'm going to give each of you a chance to win.
- From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Noun
each (plural eaches)
- (operations, philosophy) An individual item: the least quantitative unit in a grouping.
- 2007, Mulcahy, David E., Eaches or Pieces Order Fulfillment, Design, and Operations Handbook (Series on resource management), Auerbach Publications, →ISBN, page 385:
- An each, piece, single item, or individual item package.
- 2008, Neuhouser, Frederick, Rousseau's theodicy of self-love, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 238:
- Amour-propre would be able to take an interest in assuming the standpoint of reason, then, if applying 'each' to oneself in rational deliberation were simultaneously bound up with publicly establishing oneself as an 'each'
Derived terms
See also
References
- “each, adj. and pron.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022.
Irish
Etymology
PIE word |
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*h₁éḱwos |
From Old Irish ech, from Proto-Celtic *ekʷos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos (“horse”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ax/
Declension
First declension
Bare forms:
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Forms with the definite article:
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Synonyms
Derived terms
- eachmairt
- eachra
- giolla eich (“horse-boy”)
Mutation
Irish mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Radical | Eclipsis | with h-prothesis | with t-prothesis |
each | n-each | heach | t-each |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “ech”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
- Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904), “eaċ”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 272
- Finck, F. N. (1899), Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 22.
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “each”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 62
Scottish Gaelic

Etymology
PIE word |
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*h₁éḱwos |
From Old Irish ech, from Primitive Irish *ᚓᚊᚐᚄ (*eqas), from Proto-Celtic *ekʷos. Cognates include Irish each and Manx agh.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛx/
- Hyphenation: each
Noun
each m (genitive singular eich, plural eich)
- horse (Equus caballus)
- (dated) brute (coarse person)
Declension
Derived terms
References
- Edward Dwelly (1911), “each”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
- Colin Mark (2003), “each”, in The Gaelic-English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 253
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “ech”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
West Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian āge, from Proto-Germanic *augô, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- (“eye; to see”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪə̯x/
Further reading
- “each (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011