English
such
Such comes from Middle English such, from Old English swelċ, from Proto-Germanic *swalīkaz ‘so formed’, from *swa ‘so’ + *-līkaz ‘like’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swa‘so’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swalīkaz‘so formed’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swalīkreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150swelċ‘such’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500such
- Englishearliest quotation 1595same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swa‘so’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*swalīkaz‘so formed’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*swalīkreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150swelċ‘such’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500such
- Englishearliest quotation 1595same form
Earliest quotation: 1595, Samuel Daniel, (please specify the folio number): “In rushed one and tells him such a knight…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *swé ‘self’
self, solo, idiot, suicide, sole, solitary, sans, solitude, desolate, desolation, solitaire, swain, idiocy, sullen, solus, sere, 19 more
through Proto-Germanic *swa ‘so, thus, in this manner’
Today it means
det Like this, that, these, those; used to make a comparison with something implied by context.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *swa / such