alles
Cimbrian
Etymology
From Middle High German alles, allez, from Old High German allez, allaz, neuter form of al, all (“all”). Cognate with German alles, Dutch alles, West Frisian alles, Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐌰𐍄𐌰 (allata).
References
- “alla” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
- Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch alles, genitive of al. The use as a case-neutral form may have been reinforced by German alles, from a merger of Middle High German alles (genitive) and allez (nominative and accusative). Note, however, that Dutch iets (“something”) and niets (“nothing”) are also genitives, as is German nichts. Moreover, the form alles is also used in western German dialects where it cannot go back to a nominative/accusative form, e.g. Luxembourgish alles.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɑləs/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: al‧les
Descendants
- Jersey Dutch: ālles, âlles
Estonian
Etymology
Derived from ala.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German alles, allez, from Old High German allez, allaz, neuter form of al, all (“all”), equivalent to all + -es. Compare Low German allns (Allns), Dutch alles, West Frisian alles, Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐌰𐍄𐌰 (allata).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈaləs/
Audio (file) Audio (file)
Pronoun
alles n
- (indefinite) everything; all
- Alles ist gut.
- All is well.
- (indefinite, chiefly colloquial, appositional) all (as in "we all" etc.)
- Synonym: (more properly standard) alle
- Ihr seid alles Idioten. ― You're all idiots.
- Die Politiker haben alles keine Ahnung. ― The politicians all don’t have a clue.
- (chiefly colloquial, appositional) Used with an interrogative to express that the answer probably covers more than one item, like dialectal English all.
- Wer war alles schon mal in Spanien? ― Who all has ever been to Spain?
- Wo seid ihr alles gewesen? ― Where all did you go?
Usage notes
- The informal use with plurals is only possible when the pronoun does not immediately follow its referent. Thus Ihr seid alle(s) Idioten are both used, but in the case of direct postposition only Ihr alle seid Idioten is possible.
Derived terms
Determiner
alles
- form of all
- Alles Geld der Welt würde ich für dich geben.
- All the money in the world I'd give for you.
- Ich wünsche dir alles Gute.
- I wish you all the best.
Derived terms
- alles Gute
- alles Gute zum Geburtstag
Middle Dutch
Middle English
Usage notes
- Also used as a weak emphatic.
References
- “alles, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.