all

Etymology

From Middle English all, from Old English eall, from Proto-West Germanic *all, from Proto-Germanic *allaz, of uncertain origin but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“beyond, other”). Cognate with West Frisian al (“all”), Dutch al (“all”), Scots a' (“all”), German all (“all”), Swedish all (“all”), Norwegian all (“all”), Icelandic allur (“all”), Welsh holl (“all”), Irish uile (“all”), Lithuanian aliái (“all, each, every”). Dialectal sense “all gone” a calque of German alle.

det

1. Every individual or anything of the given class, with no exceptions (the noun or noun phrase denoting the class must be plural or uncountable).
   All contestants must register at the scorer’s table.
   All flesh is originally grass.
   All my friends like classical music.
   Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path[…]. It twisted and turned,[…]and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
   On the one hand, we had a scenario where, effectively, the American admiral just went "You know what, all the destroyers attack", at which point they mowed through the Japanese destroyers like a Grim Reaper through a harvest of very, very dead gorn, especially with the Brooklyns in support. 6 March 2019, Drachinifel, 25:58 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 2022-07-04
2. Throughout the whole of (a stated period of time; generally used with units of a day or longer).
   The store is open all day and all night. (= through the whole of the day and the whole of the night.)
   I’ve been working on this all year. (= from the beginning of the year until now.)
3. Only; alone; nothing but.
   He's all talk; he never puts his ideas into practice.
4. (obsolete) Any.

pron

1. Everything.
   Some gave all they had.
   She knows all and sees all.
   Those who think they know it all are annoying to those of us who do.
2. Everyone.
   A good time was had by all.
   We all enjoyed the movie.
   Hey all, just a quick note as I am trying to do 46 things at once and slow down a touch all at once… 2012-10-09, Amy Hauser, Tom Hauser, chapter 7, in Marge Thompson, Frankie M. Leisering, editors, In His Grip … a Walk Through Breast Cancer, WestBow Press, page 39
3. The only thing(s).
   All that was left was a small pile of ash.
   We ate potatoes and ziti .... that's all.
4. (chiefly Southern US, Midland US, Scotland, Northern Ireland, India) Used after who, what, where, how and similar words, either without changing their meaning, or indicating that one expects that they cover more than one element, e.g. that "who all attended" is more than one person. (Some dialects only allow this to follow some words and not others.)
   Q. Now, then, when you started to go to stake the claims, who all went along? 1904 October 10, Shea v. Nilima, [US] Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in 1905, Reports Containing the Cases Determined in All the Circuits from the Organization of the Courts, page 266
   "I mean, you could have called us—collect, o'course—jes' to let us know how-all it's a-goin'." 1998, Paul D. Staudohar, editor, Football's Best Short Stories, section 107
   "Where all did he go? What exactly was his job?" Gary shrugged and produced a weak laugh. "I reckon the Middle East. Ain't that where all the oil is?" 2002, Richard Haddock, Arkalalah, iUniverse, page 73
   "Do you ever ask me what I want to see? Or ask me about where all I've gone, who all I've met, what all I've done? Never. Not for one second. And why? Because you don't give two hoops about me." 2011, Moni Mohsin, Tender Hooks, Random House India

adv

1. Wholly; entirely; completely; totally.
   She was sitting all alone. It suddenly went all quiet.
   'Tis mystery all: th'Immortal dies 1738, Charles Wesley, “And can it be that I should gain”, in John Wesley, editor, A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, Charlestown: Lewis Timothy, →OCLC
2. Apiece; each.
   The score was 30 all when the rain delay started.
3. (degree) So much.
   Don't want to go? All the better since I lost the tickets.
4. (obsolete, poetic) Even; just.
   All as his straying flock he fed. 1579, Edmund Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender, London: Hugh Singleton, →OCLC
   A damsel lay deploring / All on a rock reclined. 1715, John Gay, What D’ye Call It?, London: Bernard Lintott, →OCLC
5. A quotative particle, compare like.
   She was all, “Whatever.”

noun

1. (with a possessive pronoun) Everything that one is capable of.
   She gave her all, and collapsed at the finish line.
2. (countable) The totality of one's possessions.
   she therefore ordered Jenny to pack up her alls and begone, for that she was determined she should not sleep that night within her walls. […] I packed up my little all as well as I could, and went off. Folio Society 1973, pp. 37-8

conj

1. (obsolete) Although.
   And those two froward sisters, their faire loves, / Came with them eke, all they were wondrous loth. 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, volume 2, London: Ponsonbie, →OCLC

adj

1. (Pennsylvania, dialect) All gone; dead.
   The butter is all.