Middle English Dictionary Entry

anī limiting adj.
Quotations: Show all Hide all

Entry Info

Forms anī limiting adj. Also æniȝ, ayny, eniȝ, eni, eani, aniȝ, ony, oony & (contractions) bani (= bi ani), teni (= to ani).
Etymology OE ǣnig; the ME types anī & enī are regional variants derived from the inflected trisyllabic forms of OE by normal shortening of the vowel; Orm's aniȝ and the EM ōnī have the vowel of OE ān one. ani refers to single entities, amounts, etc., occurring at random or chosen at random, as being convenient, suitable, to one's liking, etc. It is frequently emphatic and generalizing, having the force of 'any whatever, any at all' and 'any and every'. It is common in questions, conditional clauses, and negative statements, but not in affirmative statements (where sǒm is used instead).

Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)

1.
(a) With concrete nouns: any (person (s), thing (s), etc.); often emphatic: any whatever, any at all; ~ other, anyone else; best of ani man = better than ~; (b) with mass nouns, action nouns, abstracts, collectives, etc.: any, any kind of; emph. any at all.
Show 56 Quotations
2.
Phrases: (a) in ~ cas, perchance; (b) of ~ elde, of any age at all (i.e. still young); (c) without(en ~ faile, without fail, inevitably; (d) in ~ maner, in ~ wei(e, in (on) ~ wise, in any way, somehow; bi ~ mene, by any means; (e) ~ on man, any (one) man; ~ on peny, even a single penny; in ~ a our, at any time; (f) in, to ~ place, anywhere; (g) ~ throwe, ~ time, ~ while, any time, at any time, on any occasion; (h) bi ~ wei, in any way, in every way; (i) ~ wight, anyone.
Show 31 Quotations
3.
As noun: any one, any (sg. & pl.); anyone, anybody; anything; ani of us bothe, either of us two; -- often with gen. pl. (early) or with of phrase.
Show 26 Quotations
4.
As adv.: in any way, measure, or degree; any; ~ lenger, ~ ofter; withouten ~ more, without anything further, unhesitatingly.
Show 5 Quotations

Supplemental Materials (draft)

Note: Per DJ: I suggest ani other wise may be adverbial which means ani would be adv. and the a1300 Bestiary quot. under 2.(d) would need to be moved to 4.

Supplemental Materials (draft)

  • c1460 Oseney Reg.10/15 : If a bonde man quietely a yere and A day in oony towne pryvylegyd haue i-dwellyd..evyn þerwith fro his bondage is delyuered.
  • c1460 Oseney Reg.43/19 : If for fleyng or felonye oony of there men ofte to lese his catell.
    • Note: Additional quote(s)
  • a1450 PPl.A(1) (RwlPoet 137)11.21 : Swichani [Trin-C: Þat can construe þe deseites & conspire wrongis..Þat suche craftis conne ben yclepid to counseil].
    • Note: We have no citation of ani as a postpositive modifier. This needs to be included (cp. way we handled non adj. 2. postpositive--per MJW
  • ?a1300 *Body & S.(4) (Dgb 86)71 : Þe þridde dai flod shal flouen þat al þis world shal illen, Boþe in loue and in heie þe fulþe auei shal spillen, Herre þen heni hul into þer erþe millen; Wel is him þat treue haueþ ben al þat ilke wile.
    • Note: New spelling
    Note: [Trin-C: Herre þan ani hulle]
  • c1450(?a1400) Wars Alex.(Ashm 44)4919 : It ware to tere me to tell þe tirement to-gedire, Or a nany clerke þe cost to de-vise.
    • Note: New spelling

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