somebodyn.
/ˈsʌmbədi/, /ˈsʌmˌbɒdi/, U.S. /ˈsəmˌbɑdi/, /ˈsəmbədi/ 1.
a. A person unknown, indeterminate, or unnamed; someone, some person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > [noun] > some person
maneOE
someonec1305
somewho1390
somebodya1400
quidam1579
who1654
monkey1815
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > something or someone
somethingc1000
someonec1305
a thinga1382
somebodya1400
sumpin1850
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 3785 Þou mayst be wroþe, sum body to chastyse, Þogh hate nat yn þy herte ryse.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke viii. f. lxxxviijv And Iesus sayd: Someboody touched me.
1592 Ard. of Feversham iii. v Soft, Ales, for here comes some body.
1623 Prince Charles Let. 25 Apr. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. III. 149 If wee should goe away without leaving somboddie behynd us.
1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 155. ⁋2 I heard some body at a Distance hemming after me.
1779 Mirror No. 17 I cannot help expressing my suspicion, that Mrs. Rebecca Prune has got somebody to write her letter.
1841 R. Browning Pippa Passes i, in Bells & Pomegranates No. I 7/2 Take the pipe out of his mouth, somebody.
1891 E. A. Freeman Let. 15 Feb. in W. R. W. Stephens Life & Lett. E. A. Freeman (1895) II. 428 That is just what I want somebody to do to me.
b.
(a) somebody else pron. some other person. Cf. someone else at someone pron.The older form of the possessive, somebody's else, has now given way to somebody else's (see else adv., adj., n., and conj.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > [noun] > other person
elsewhoc1542
customer1590
concreature1592
thee1609
somebody else1648
you1690
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Yemandt anders, some body else.
1655 J. Owen Vindic. Evangelicæ in Wks. (1851) XII. 263 That blood was not Christ's, but somebody's else that He loved.
1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 21 The Author of such Legal Formularies, tho' they had been rough-drawn by his Clerk or some Body else.
1718 J. Fox Wanderer 86 To heighten their own Vanity, or some Body's else.
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan II. 27 A kind of shadow, which made me feel as if I had seen it, before,..or somebody else, very much like him.
1860 Sat. Rev. 9 12/1 A clergyman who is inclined to misconduct himself will prefer to do so in somebody else's parish.
1892 I. Zangwill Big Bow Myst. 109 All the seats were numbered, so that everybody might have the satisfaction of occupying somebody else's.
(b) Also with sense ‘a rival for the affections’ in there (or it) is somebody else.
ΚΠ
1911 G. B. Shaw Getting Married in Doctor's Dilemma 200 You have never given me a real reason for refusing me yet. I once thought it was somebody else. There were lots of fellows after you.
1935 D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night xii. 260 ‘I suppose,’ he said in a savage tone, ‘there's somebody else.’
1946 ‘C. Brahms’ & ‘S. J. Simon’ Trottie True iii. 37 ‘I know what it is.’ Joe tried to stop himself but he couldn't. ‘There's somebody else.’
c. With article or pronoun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > [noun]
hadc900
lifesmaneOE
maneOE
world-maneOE
ghostOE
wyeOE
lifeOE
son of manOE
wightc1175
soulc1180
earthmanc1225
foodc1225
person?c1225
creaturec1300
bodyc1325
beera1382
poppetc1390
flippera1400
wat1399
corsec1400
mortal?a1425
deadly?c1450
hec1450
personagec1485
wretcha1500
human1509
mundane1509
member1525
worma1556
homo1561
piece of flesh1567
sconce1567
squirrel?1567
fellow creature1572
Adamite1581
bloat herringa1586
earthling1593
mother's child1594
stuff1598
a piece of flesh1600
wagtail1607
bosom1608
fragment1609
boots1623
tick1631
worthy1649
earthlies1651
snap1653
pippin1665
being1666
personal1678
personality1678
sooterkin1680
party1686
worldling1687
human being1694
water-wagtail1694
noddle1705
human subject1712
piece of work1713
somebody1724
terrestrial1726
anybody1733
individual1742
character1773
cuss1775
jig1781
thingy1787
bod1788
curse1790
his nabs1790
article1796
Earthite1814
critter1815
potato1815
personeityc1816
nibs1821
somebody1826
tellurian1828
case1832
tangata1840
prawn1845
nigger1848
nut1856
Snooks1860
mug1865
outfit1867
to deliver the goods1870
hairpin1879
baby1880
possum1894
hot tamale1895
babe1900
jobbie1902
virile1903
cup of tea1908
skin1914
pisser1918
number1919
job1927
apple1928
mush1936
face1944
jong1956
naked ape1965
oke1970
punter1975
1724 J. Swift Let. to People of Ireland 15 Some body in England empowered a Second Some body to write to a third Somebody here.
1786 A. M. Bennett Juvenile Indiscretions V. 30 He was a somebody he was acquainted with.
1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. IV. viii. iii. 26 There is a somebody who is responsible for it, and that somebody is he.
1869 E. Dunkin Midnight Sky p. ii It has been the earnest desire of the author to be the ‘somebody’ of Carlyle.
1871 R. Browning Balaustion 18 There spoke up a brisk little somebody.
d. Used as a substitute for a personal name. Also somebody-or(-the)-other.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > anonymity or lack of a name > [noun] > thing or person whose name is forgotten or unknown
swilk and swilkc1175
thinga1325
what-call-ye-him1473
who knows what?1548
I don't know (also I know not, I wot not) what1568
God (also (the) Lord) knows (also wot) what1569
washical1575
what-d'ye-call-'em1593
so-and-so1596
whiblin1604
so-fortha1616
jiggumboba1625
know-not-whata1642
thingum1652
thingum-thangum1684
what's-his-name1697
something or other1706
thingummy1737
thingamabob1751
something1764
what's-her-name1816
conundrum1817
thingamerry1819
thingamajig1824
somebody1825
what's-its-name1839
whangdoodle1852
thingummytite1865
dingus1866
what-not1876
whatsita1882
gilguy1883
gadget1886
dingbat1894
doohickey1914
oojah1917
oojah capivvy1917
oojiboo1918
doodad1920
tiddlypush1923
whosis1923
thingy1927
doodah1928
doofer1937
hootenanny1940
whatchamacallit1942
gizmo1943
frammis1948
whosit1948
whifflow1961
oobyjiver1963
whatsisface1967
oojamaflip1970
what's-her-face1980
1825 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 26 Nov. 541 At Send, or Sutton..there is a Baron somebody, with a De before his name.
1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xxxii Up came an aide-de-camp.., telling him that General Somebody ordered him to bring up his guns.
1869 A. J. Evans Vashti xviii. 241 My boy thinks that the opinion of this Professor Von Somebody is oracular in musical matters.
1935 D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night xii. 255 Mr. Somebody-or-the-other had undertaken..to climb every tree in St. Giles.
1976 ‘L. Black’ Healthy Way to Die iii. 29 The two girls..were the Daughters of Lord Somebody-or-other.
2.
a. A person of some note, consequence, or importance. Frequently with depreciatory or sarcastic force.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who is distinguished or notable
palma1525
somebodya1566
Dona1635
great gun1657
lion1715
bahadur1776
tyee1792
lioness1808
top-sawyer1826
roi soleil1880
a1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) sig. Bj Ere you came hyther, poore I was sombody, The Kinge delighted in mee, now I am but a noddy.
1590 J. Stockwood Eng. Accidence 62 Schollers, which thinke them~selues som bodie.
1678 A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery (new ed.) 33 That they may be thought Some-body.
1704 in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1870) IX. 345 A desire to be somebody..seems to be the rule of his life.
a1753 P. Drake Memoirs (1755) II. iii. 88 I..hired a handsome Horse and Furniture, that I might look like somebody.
1835 Court Mag. 6 188/2 The woman who fancies herself somebody.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits vi. 107 You must be somebody; then you may do this or that, as you will.
b. With a and plural.
ΚΠ
1601 A. Dent Plaine Mans Path-way to Heauen 183 We see many that thinke themselues some bodies..which yet will be ouertaken with it.
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (Luke vii. 28) They are somebodies in heaven, whatever men make of them.
a1848 F. Marryat Valerie (1849) II. ii. 73 People, who are somebodies.
1880 E. Lynn Linton Rebel of Family I. ii. 60 Her dress was expensive, and she was evidently a Somebody.
1899 Educat. Rev. Oct. 222 Which exasperates somebodies who feel they are treated as nobodies.
3. A person whose name is intentionally suppressed; occasionally, the Devil. somebody up there, God; a supernatural controlling power.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > a devil > the Devil or Satan > [noun]
devileOE
Beelzebubc950
the foul ghosteOE
SatanOE
warlockOE
SatanasOE
worsea1200
unwinea1225
wondc1250
quedea1275
pucka1300
serpenta1300
dragon1340
shrew1362
Apollyon1382
the god of this worldc1384
Mahoundc1400
leviathan1412
worsta1425
old enemyc1449
Ruffin1567
dismal1570
Plotcocka1578
the Wicked One1582
goodman1603
Mahu1603
foul thief1609
somebody1609
legiona1616
Lord of Flies1622
walliman1629
shaitan1638
Old Nicka1643
Nick1647
unsel?1675
old gentleman1681
old boy1692
the gentleman in black1693
deuce1694
Black Spy1699
the vicious one1713
worricow1719
Old Roger1725
Lord of the Flies1727
Simmie1728
Old Scratch1734
Old Harry1777
Old Poker1784
Auld Hornie1786
old (auld), ill thief1789
old one1790
little-good1821
Tom Walker1833
bogy1840
diabolarch1845
Old Ned1859
iniquity1899
the mind > language > naming > anonymity or lack of a name > [noun] > thing or person whose name is forgotten or unknown > where name is deliberately suppressed
you wot what1536
you-know-what1564
you-know-who1580
somebody1609
layer-over1699
thingy1927
how's your father1959
what-not1964
the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun]
godeOE
deityc1374
higher powerc1384
princec1384
divinityc1386
governorc1400
powerc1425
numen1495
fear1535
heaven1554
godheada1586
godhood1586
landlorda1635
supreme1643
supercelestial1652
supernal1661
universality1681
father1820
unspeakable1843
Molimo1861
Mlimo1897
superperson1907
somebody up there1972
sky fairy1997
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. i. 45 I would not as they tearme it praise her, but I would som-body had heard her talke yester-day as I did. View more context for this quotation
1844 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xxxviii. 445 There is a deeper impression of Somebody's Hoof here.
1972 Dict. Contemp. & Colloq. Usage (Eng.-Lang. Inst. Amer.) 27/3 Somebody up there loves (hates) me, an expression attributing one's good or bad luck..upon being in the good or bad graces of an unseen power above.
1975 J. Updike Month of Sundays xxx. 225 In the land of my parish, the shortest day of the year is approaching, and somebody's birthday, I think.
1977 R. Perry Dead End i. 9 All I could do was..pray that somebody up there loved me.
1980 Times 10 June 10/1 (heading) Somebody up there cares for me.
Draft additions 1993
Caribbean and U.S. regional (southern) in African-American usage in the areas of South Carolina and Georgia where Gullah is spoken. Also s'mady, s'mody. A person; a human being. Also: anybody, any person.With unchanged plural (see e.g. quot. 1918).
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > [noun]
hadc900
lifesmaneOE
maneOE
world-maneOE
ghostOE
wyeOE
lifeOE
son of manOE
wightc1175
soulc1180
earthmanc1225
foodc1225
person?c1225
creaturec1300
bodyc1325
beera1382
poppetc1390
flippera1400
wat1399
corsec1400
mortal?a1425
deadly?c1450
hec1450
personagec1485
wretcha1500
human1509
mundane1509
member1525
worma1556
homo1561
piece of flesh1567
sconce1567
squirrel?1567
fellow creature1572
Adamite1581
bloat herringa1586
earthling1593
mother's child1594
stuff1598
a piece of flesh1600
wagtail1607
bosom1608
fragment1609
boots1623
tick1631
worthy1649
earthlies1651
snap1653
pippin1665
being1666
personal1678
personality1678
sooterkin1680
party1686
worldling1687
human being1694
water-wagtail1694
noddle1705
human subject1712
piece of work1713
somebody1724
terrestrial1726
anybody1733
individual1742
character1773
cuss1775
jig1781
thingy1787
bod1788
curse1790
his nabs1790
article1796
Earthite1814
critter1815
potato1815
personeityc1816
nibs1821
somebody1826
tellurian1828
case1832
tangata1840
prawn1845
nigger1848
nut1856
Snooks1860
mug1865
outfit1867
to deliver the goods1870
hairpin1879
baby1880
possum1894
hot tamale1895
babe1900
jobbie1902
virile1903
cup of tea1908
skin1914
pisser1918
number1919
job1927
apple1928
mush1936
face1944
jong1956
naked ape1965
oke1970
punter1975
1826 C. R. Williams Tour Island Jamaica xxvi. 195 You wicked somebody.
1873 C. J. G. Rampini Lett. from Jamaica 175 Bragging ribber nebber drown somebody.
1888 C. C. Jones Negro Myths from Georgia Coast xxx. 67 Eh see one tall somebody all wrop up head an yez een white.
1910 I. Anderson & F. Cundall Jamaica Negro Prov. & Sayings 28 John Crow say him a dandy man, but him put on bald head fe mek fas' s'mody fine fault wid him.
1918 E. C. Parsons Folk-Tales Andros Island, Bahamas (Mem. Amer. Folklore Soc.) 61 Dey set two sheet, an' fix it under bed like it was two somebody layin' down.
1997 O. P. Adisa It begins with Tears ii. 77 Olive's grandfather took his hand and shook it. ‘You decent somebody. Me little Olive did all right.’
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1400