Anyone
/ˈɛniˌwʌn/noun
Any person at all; used to refer to an unspecified person.
Did you know?“Anyone” is a later English compound of “any” + “one,” and “any” itself goes back to Old English “ænig,” meaning “one, single, some,” from the same ancient root behind “one” and “only.”
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
ænig
“one, single, some; any”
Old English
OE
ān
“one; a single entity”
Middle English
ME
any
“any, one, some”
Middle English
ME
any one
“any single person or thing”
Modern English
English
anyone
“any person at all”