I. (|)səm adjective
Etymology: Middle English som, adjective & pron., from Old English sum, adjective & pron.; akin to Old High German sum, adjective & pron., some, Old Norse sumr, adjective & pron., Gothic sums, adjective & pron., some, Greek hamē somehow, Sanskrit sama any, sama level, equal, same — more at same
1. : being one unknown, undetermined, or unspecified unit or being or thing
some person knocked at my door
I'll do it some day
— sometimes used as a correlative to another or other
he is spending the summer at some beach or another
some day or other make us a visit
2. : being one, a part, or an unspecified number of something (as a class, group, species, collection, or range of possibilities) named or contextually implied : being an unspecified or ill-defined individual, kind, or example of something
this criticism applies to some students only
some gems are hard but the majority are soft
protective coloring occurs in some birds
the hartebeest is some African animal
requested help from some man in the audience
3. : worthy of notice or consideration : far from negligible : more or less important or striking
that was some race
that was some party
4. : being one of, one kind of, or an undetermined proportion of : being always at least one but often a few and sometimes all of — used as a sign of particularity to indicate that the logical proposition in which it occurs is asserted only of a subclass or certain existent members of the class denoted by the term which it modifies
II. |səm pronoun, singular or plural in construction
Etymology: Middle English som, adjective & pron., from Old English sum, adjective & pron.
1. : some one : one person or thing among a number
some of these days
2. : one indeterminate quantity, portion, or number as distinguished from the rest : a part of something (as a number or group of persons)
some had webbed feet, some had talons
3. : some more : an indefinite additional amount or degree
he ran a mile and then some
III. (|)səm indefinite article
Etymology: some (I)
: being of an unspecified but appreciable or not inconsiderable quantity, amount, extent, or degree : more than a little : being in number at least or often more than a few
we have some good honey
there is some heat in this radiator
they have some land by the river
IV. |səm adverb
Etymology: some (I)
1. : about — usually used before a numeral
a village of some eighty houses
some two or three persons
2. : in some degree or extent : somewhat
felt some better after just one mouthful