something

An object whose nature is yet to be defined.

Adjective

  1. Having a characteristic that the speaker cannot specify.
    • "Very poetic." They came to a halt before the outer door. "It's very something," Rusty said wistfully. "How do you do it?" - 1986, Marie Nicole, Foxy Lady, →ISBN, page 20:
    • "It's very — it's very something," said Lucy. "It's a kind of love-letter, isn't it?" - 1988, Colleen Klein, A Space for Delight, page 200:
    • If it isn't large, I certainly can't say it's small. But it's very something. - 2014, Sommer Nectarhoff, A Buck in the Snow, →ISBN:

Origin

From Middle English somþyng, some-thing, som thing, sum thinge, sum þinge, from Old English sum þing (literally “some thing”), equivalent to some + thing. Compare Old English āwiht (“something”, literally “some thing, any thing”), Swedish någonting (“something”, literally “some thing, any thing”).

Forms

somthing sumthing somethang sumfin sumfin' sumn sumpin sumting sumthang sumfink sth sth. sthg smtg smth smtn

Adverb

  1. Somewhat; to a degree.
    • The baby looks something like his father.
    • Angelo. Yet giue leaue (my Lord,) That we may bring you something on the way - c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […]...
  2. Used to adverbialise a following adjective
    • I miss them something terrible/rotten. (I miss them terribly)
    • You can't thrash when you have rheumatic fever – though you want to something awful, Mrs. White says. - 1913, Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC:
    • Seeing him here, though, I all of a sudden feel more like I been gone from home three years, instead of three weeks, and I miss my people something fierce. - 1994 Summer, Rebecca T. Goodwin, “Keeper of the house”, in...

Forms

somthing sumthing somethang sumfin sumfin' sumn sumpin sumting sumthang sumfink sth sth. sthg smtg smth smtn

Derived

something awful something bad something fierce something good something terrible

Noun

  1. An object whose nature is yet to be defined.
    • Yea, ’t is true; I ’d know thee by thine eyen, that are gray, and thoughtful, and dark with a something that lies behind the colour of them,—and shining by the light of a lamp lit somewhere within. - 1903, Florence...
    • From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much.[…] But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is...
  2. An object whose name is forgotten by, unknown or unimportant to the user, e.g., from words of a song. Also used to refer to an object earlier indefinitely referred to as 'something' (pronoun sense).
    • What was the something the pilot saw, the something worth killing for? - 1999, Nicholas Clapp, The Road to Ubar...
    • 2004, Theron Q Dumont, The Master Mind http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN0766185435&id=-n_jW7BVfawC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&sig=ou-CrIyWbKyZQ0s3q0uaJTiHdsI Moreover, in all of our experience with these sense...
    • 2004, Ira Levin, The Stepford Wives http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN0060738197&id=rKeKLf7LeXAC&pg=PA151&lpg=PA151&sig=uAeyLuj-HYk1dLAme_rokCWQITc She wiped something with a cloth, wiped at the wall...

Forms

somethings somthing sumthing somethang sumfin sumfin' sumn sumpin sumting sumthang sumfink sth sth. sthg smtg smth smtn

Pronoun

  1. An uncertain or unspecified thing; one thing.
    • I must have forgotten to pack something, but I can't think what.
    • I have something for you in my bag.
    • I have a feeling something good is going to happen today.

    Synonyms: sth

  2. A quality to a moderate degree.
    • The performance was something of a disappointment.
    • That child is something of a genius.
    • Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps, with something of the stately pose which Richter has given his Queen Louise on...
  3. A talent or quality that is difficult to specify.
    • She has a certain something.

    Synonyms: je ne sais quoi

  4. Somebody who or something that is superlative or notable in some way.
    • He's really something! I've never heard such a great voice.
    • She's quite something. I can't believe she would do such a mean thing.
    • Some marmosets are less than six inches tall. —Well, isn't that something?

Forms

somthing sumthing somethang sumfin sumfin' sumn sumpin sumting sumthang sumfink sth sth. sthg smtg smth smtn

Related

anything everything nothing somebody someone -something -somethingth somewhere thing

Derived

a little of something goes a long way be onto something give someone something to think about leave something to be desired look like something the cat brought in look like something the cat dragged in look like something the cat's dragged in make something of or something something green in one's eye slip into something more comfortable some something or other something and nothing somethingburger something dreadful something else something for the weekend something is better than nothing Somethingism something is rotten in the state of Denmark something is up something like something like that something nasty in the woodshed

Verb

  1. Designates an action whose name is forgotten by, unknown or unimportant to the user, e.g. from words of a song.
    • 1890, William Dean Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN0140439234&id=IOZeJi7U4eEC&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&sig=LW2P-uKmoZabe70ZKnIHIMQLXlw He didn’t apply for it for a long...
    • 2003, George Angel, “Allegoady,” in Juncture, Lara Stapleton and Veronica Gonzalez edd. http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN1887128913&id=qB-D32yV1VAC&pg=PA161&lpg=PA161&sig=9AYyYLA-MQqTgAbptreoe3VyOzQ...
    • 2005, Floyd Skloot, A World of Light http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&vid=ISBN0803243189&id=TEgRGe6FiTkC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&sig=zEj4BPQ0eEFkj6LdOI8eRJlZrzE “Oh how we somethinged on the hmmm hmm we were wed....

Forms

somethings somethinging somethinged somthing sumthing somethang sumfin sumfin' sumn sumpin sumting sumthang sumfink sth sth. sthg smtg smth smtn