Re: another silly phonology question

On Sun, 3 Dec 2000, Keith Alasdair Mylchreest wrote:

> Good try, but I'm sceptical. /s@m@t/ is a pronoun not an adjective, e.g.
>
> "This box isn't empty, it's got /s@m@t/ in it"
>
> I'd never say *"it's got somewhat in it". Whatever it's final element
> /s@m@t/ is used of things exactly as "someone" is used for persons.
Absolutely.  Check the definition of "somewhat [pronoun]" at
www.m-w.com, the Merriam-Webster *American* dictionary: it defines
it as "something", just what you report.

Possibly this is because it appears in Shakespeare, Pericles II.i:

        Thanks, fortune, yet, that, after all my crosses,
        Thou givest me somewhat to repair myself,


> Is there ought in Middle English?
m-w doesn't give an exact citation, but says "13th century".
The OED will probably tell the tale in full.

--
John Cowan                                   cowan@ccil.org
One art/there is/no less/no more/All things/to do/with sparks/galore
        --Douglas Hofstadter