each

The word 'each' is one of the most basic distributive determiners in English, used to single out individual members of a group.‍​‍​‌​‌​‍​‌​‌​‌​‌​‍​‌​‍​‌​‍​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‍​‍​‌​‍​‍​‍​‍​‌​‍​‌​‌​‍ Like 'such' and 'which,' it conceals a compound origin that only etymology reveals: it is built from the Proto-Germanic words for 'ever' and 'like,' fused into a single syllable that has shed all visible trace of its components.

Old English 'ǣlc' (each, every) descends from a Proto-Germanic compound variously reconstructed as *aiwalīkaz or *ainalīkaz. The first element is *aiwa- (ever, always, an age), the ancestor of Modern English 'aye' and 'ever.' The second element is *līkam (form, body, like), the same component found in 'such' (from *swa-līkaz, so-like) and 'which' (from *hwa-līkaz, who-like). The literal meaning of *aiwalīkaz is 'ever-alike' or 'always of the same form' — expressing the idea that every member of a set receives the same treatment.

Some scholars prefer the reconstruction *ainalīkaz, with the first element being *ainaz (one) rather than *aiwa- (ever), yielding a literal meaning of 'one-like' or 'each one alike.' The difference is subtle, and both reconstructions produce phonological outcomes consistent with the attested Old English form. The 'ever-alike' interpretation has gained more support in recent scholarship.

The cognates across Germanic support the reconstruction: Middle High German 'ieglich' (each, every — surviving in Modern German literary 'jeglich'), Old Frisian 'jelk' and 'elk,' Dutch 'elk' (each, every), and dialectal Scandinavian forms. The Gothic Bible uses 'ainshun' for 'each' in some passages, which may or may not be related.

The phonological compression from 'ǣlc' to Modern English 'each' follows the same pattern seen in 'such' (from 'swylc') and 'which' (from 'hwylc'): the '-lc' cluster underwent palatalization, becoming the affricate /tʃ/ (the 'ch' sound). This is a regular Old English to Middle English sound change that affected all three words identically, confirming their structural parallelism.

The semantic distinction between 'each' and 'every' is one of the most frequently discussed topics in English grammar. Both words indicate totality, but they frame it differently. 'Each' is distributive — it considers group members one at a time ('each student answered a different question'). 'Every' is collective — it emphasizes the completeness of the group ('every student attended the lecture'). This difference is reflected in syntax: 'each' can follow a plural noun or pronoun ('they each received a prize'), while 'every' cannot. 'Each of' is standard; 'every of' is archaic. These distinctions were less sharp in Old and Middle English, where 'ǣlc' covered both senses.

The phrase 'each other' — used as a reciprocal pronoun ('they helped each other') — dates to Old English, where 'ǣlc ōþer' meant 'each the other.' Over time, this phrase became a fixed unit treated as a compound pronoun, despite being written as two words. It competes with 'one another,' with traditional grammar claiming 'each other' is for two and 'one another' for more than two, though this distinction has never been consistently observed in practice.

The word 'apiece' (14th century) contains 'a' (to, for) plus 'piece' and is semantically parallel to 'each' — 'five dollars apiece' means 'five dollars each.' The Scottish and dialectal English word 'ilk' (same, that same), as in 'of that ilk,' preserves the Old English '-lic' component in a different guise.

The three '-like' compounds of English — 'such,' 'which,' and 'each' — form an elegant etymological triad. 'Such' answers 'of what kind?' with 'of that kind' (so-like). 'Which' asks 'of what kind?' (who-like). 'Each' declares 'of every kind equally' (ever-alike). All three compress a demonstrative or universal element with the Germanic word for 'form' — and all three underwent the same palatalization, leaving modern speakers with three monosyllabic function words whose hidden architecture is identical.