Old English 'aelc,' compressed from 'ever-alike' — emphasizing that every member of a group is treated identically, one by one.
Every one of two or more people or things, regarded and identified separately.
From Proto-Indo-European *h2ey- ("vital force, life-span, eternity") combined with Proto-Germanic *ga-likaz ("alike"), through Old English aelc ("each, every"). The Old English form derives from a ("ever, always", from PIE *h2ey-) + gelic ("alike", from PIE *lik- meaning body or form). The compound meaning is literally "ever alike" — each individual unit being of the same kind. Old English aelc -> Middle English eche -> Modern English each. The PIE root *h2ey- is the same root behind English ever, age (via Latin aevum), eternal (via Latin aeternus), and German je ("ever"). The evolution