eall

Alternative forms

• æal, all — Anglian
• æall, eal, eæll
• ᚪᛚ (al) — Ruthwell Cross

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *all, from Proto-Germanic *allaz. Cognate with Old Frisian al, Old Saxon all, Old Dutch al, Old High German al, Old Norse allr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æ͜ɑll/, [æ͜ɑɫ]

Adjective

eall

1. all

   Ealle menn sind unġelīċe.

   All people are different.

   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 24:38-39

     On þǣm dagum ǣr þǣm flōde wǣron menn etende and drincende, and wīfiġende and ġifte sellende, ōþ þone dæġ þe Nōe on þā earċe ēode, and hīe nysson ǣr sē flōd cōm and nam hīe ealle.

     In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they didn't know until the flood came and took them all.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "On the Lord's Ascension"

     Eft he cwæð, "Ic bēo mid ēow eallum dagum, ōð þisre worulde geendunge," seðe lyfað and rixað mid þam Ælmihtigan Fæder and ðam Halgum Gaste á on ecnysse. Amen.

     Again he said, "I will be with you on all days, until the ending of this world," who liveth and reigneth with the Almighty Father and the Holy Ghost ever to eternity. Amen.

2. whole, entire

   Iċ lufiġe ealne mīnne hīred.

   I love my whole family.

   • late 9th century, Old English Martyrology

     Sume ġēare him bærst miċel wund on ōðrum þēo, and hē stōd þurh eall þæt ġēar on ānum fēt.

     One year a large wound burst open on one of his thighs, and he stood on one leg for the whole year.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Nativity of St. Paul the Apostle"

     Petrus āna spræc for ealne þone hēap.

     Peter by himself spoke for the whole group.

Pronoun

eall

1. everything
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     For þīnre æfweardnesse, hire þyncþ eall nāwiht þæt hēo hæfþ.

     Without you, everything she has seems like nothing to her.

2. (in the plural) everyone

Adverb

eall

1. completely

   Mid wundrunge hē ġeseah þæt sē cniht wæs eall fæġer.

   With astonishment, he noticed that the boy was completely beautiful.

   • 10th century, The Wanderer:

     Ġemon hē seleseċġas · ond sincþege,
     hū hine on ġeoguðe · his goldwine
     wenede tō wiste · Wyn eal ġedrēas.

     He remembers hall-men and takings of treasures,
     how his goldfriend accustomed him
     to feast on youth. Mirth has completely perished.

2. altogether, in all, all
   • late 10th century, Ælfric's Lives of Saints

     Iċ wāt eall be þām.

     I know all about that.