Exclusively Germanic with no outside cognates — hiding inside 'already,' 'also,' 'although,' 'always,' and 'almighty.'
Used to refer to the whole quantity or extent of a particular group or thing.
From Old English 'eall' (all, every, entire), from Proto-Germanic *allaz (all, entire), of uncertain PIE origin. One proposal connects it to PIE *h₂el- (to grow, nourish), suggesting an original sense of 'grown to full size, complete.' Another links it to PIE *h₂ol-no- (all), though this is debated. The word is found across all Germanic languages but has no secure cognates outside Germanic, making
Nearly every English word beginning with 'al-' that means 'wholly' or 'completely' is a compound with 'all': 'already' is 'all-ready,' 'also' is 'all-so' (wholly thus), 'although' is 'all-though,' 'altogether' is 'all-together,' 'always' is 'all-ways,' and 'almighty' is 'all-mighty.' The word 'all' is hiding inside a dozen everyday words.