some
English
Etymology
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From Middle English some, sum, from Old English sum (“some, a certain one”), from Proto-Germanic *sumaz (“some, a certain one”), from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one, whole”). Cognate Scots sum, some (“some”), North Frisian som, sam, säm (“some”), West Frisian sommige, somlike (“some”), Low German somige (“some”), Dutch sommige (“some”), (deprecated template usage) [etyl] German dialectal summige (“some”), Danish somme (“some”), Swedish somlig (“some”), Norwegian sum, som (“some”), Icelandic sumur (“some”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌼𐍃 (sums, “one, someone”). More at same.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- (UK)
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /sʌm/, [sɐm]
- (US)
- (General American) enPR: sŭm, IPA(key): /sʌm/, [sɐm]
Audio (US) (file)
- (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /sɐm/, [säm]
Audio (file) - Homophone: sum
- Rhymes: -ʌm
Pronoun
some
- A certain number, at least one.
- 2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18:
- Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.
- Some enjoy spicy food, others prefer it milder.
- An indefinite quantity.
- Can I have some of them?
- An indefinite amount, a part.
- please give me some of the cake; everyone is wrong some of the time
Synonyms
- (an indefinite quantity): a few
Antonyms
Translations
certain number
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indefinite quantity or number
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indefinite amount, part
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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 to be checked
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Determiner
some
- A certain proportion of, at least one.
- Some people like camping.
- 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.
- An unspecified quantity or number of.
- Would you like some grapes?
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
- The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. […] Their example was followed by others at a time when the master of Mohair was superintending in person the docking of some two-year-olds, and equally invisible.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 22, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined. One of these blacklegs was laid for by a picket and knocked out of time.
- 2013 July-August, Sarah Glaz, “Ode to Prime Numbers”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
- Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.
- An unspecified amount of (something uncountable).
- Would you like some water?
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 10, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.
- After some persuasion, he finally agreed.
- A certain, an unspecified or unknown.
- I've just met some guy who said he knew you.
- The sequence S converges to zero for some initial value v.
- 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest[1]:
- By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.
- 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
- Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.
- A considerable quantity or number of; approximately.
- He had edited the paper for some years.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
- We drove back to the office with some concern on my part at the prospect of so large a case. Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
- (informal) A remarkable.
- He is some acrobat!
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
terms derived from some
Translations
certain proportion of
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unspecified quantity or number of
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unspecified amount of
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certain, unspecified or unknown
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considerable quantity or number of
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informal: remarkable
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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 to be checked
|
Adverb
some (not comparable)
- Of a measurement: approximately, roughly.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:approximately
- I guess he must have weighed some 90 kilos.
- Some 30,000 spectators witnessed the feat.
- Some 4,000 acres of land were flooded.
Translations
approximately, roughly
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Further reading
- “some”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- “some”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Finnish
Etymology
Short for sosiaalinen media (“social media”).
Pronunciation
Noun
some
- (colloquial or jargon) social media
- Jos tänä päivänä aikoo menestyä politiikassa, on pakko olla somessa.
- If one wants to be successful in politics nowadays, it's obligatory to be in the social media.
Declension
| Inflection of some (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | some | somet | ||
| genitive | somen | somejen | ||
| partitive | somea | someja | ||
| illative | someen | someihin | ||
| singular | plural | |||
| nominative | some | somet | ||
| accusative | nom. | some | somet | |
| gen. | somen | |||
| genitive | somen | somejen someinrare | ||
| partitive | somea | someja | ||
| inessive | somessa | someissa | ||
| elative | somesta | someista | ||
| illative | someen | someihin | ||
| adessive | somella | someilla | ||
| ablative | somelta | someilta | ||
| allative | somelle | someille | ||
| essive | somena | someina | ||
| translative | someksi | someiksi | ||
| abessive | sometta | someitta | ||
| instructive | — | somein | ||
| comitative | See the possessive forms below. | |||
Anagrams
Galician
Verb
some
Italian
Noun
some f
Anagrams
Portuguese
Pronunciation
Verb
some
Pronunciation
Verb
some
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- Rhymes:English/ʌm
- English lemmas
- English pronouns
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English determiners
- English informal terms
- English adverbs
- English uncomparable adverbs
- English basic words
- English indefinite pronouns
- Finnish 2-syllable words
- Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Finnish lemmas
- Finnish nouns
- Finnish colloquialisms
- Finnish terms with usage examples
- Finnish nalle-type nominals
- Galician non-lemma forms
- Galician verb forms
- Italian non-lemma forms
- Italian noun plural forms
- Portuguese 2-syllable words
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Portuguese non-lemma forms
- Portuguese verb forms