somewhat

somewhat, n. and adv.
  (ˈsʌmhwɒt)
  Forms: α. 3 sumhwat, -whet (Orm. summwhatt), 3–6 sumwhat (5 -whate, -wat(t, 6 -whatt); 4 sumquat, 5 -qwat, 6 Sc. -quhat; 3 somȝwat, 4–6 -whatt, 5–7 -what; 4 somwat, 5–6 -watt; 4– somewhat. β. dial. 8 sumet, 9 summat, summut, zum'ot, etc.
  [f. some a.¹ + what pron. Down to the end of the 16th cent. written either as one word or as two.]
  = something n. and adv.
  A. n.
  1. a. A certain amount, esp. in the way of statement, information, etc. Freq. with of (= concerning). Now arch.

c 1200 Ormin 958 Summwhatt icc habbe shæwedd ȝuw Till ȝure sawle fode. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 506 Schaw sumwhet of ham, for hwi ha beon wurðe for to beon iwurðge. a 1300 Cursor M. 1496 Spek we sumquat of caym kyn. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 672 To thi help yet sumwhat can I say. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) vii. 27 Now hafe I schortly talde ȝow sum what of bawme. 1509 Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 293, I wold reherce somwhat of her demeanyng in this behalue. a 1586 Sidney Ps. xxxiv. ii, Joyne with me, Somwhat to speake of his due praise. 1625 Bacon Ess., Of Cunning (Arb.) 441 It is strange, how long some Men will lie in wait, to speake somewhat, they desire to say. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1753) I. 53, I will relate somewhat concerning the Earl of Antrim. 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. iv. ii. 274 Exasperated at somewhat his antagonist had said. 1819 Byron Juan i. vii, Narrating somewhat of Don Juan's father.

  b. Some (material or immaterial) thing of unspecified nature, amount, etc. Now arch. or dial.

α a 1225 Ancr. R. 44 So doð euer sumhwat þet god muwe þerof awakenen. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 54 He it nolde bi-leue, Ȝwane ani pouere man him bede, bote he him som-ȝwat ȝeue. 1350 Will. Palerne 3722 It bi-tokenes sum-what, treuli, god turne it to gode. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 210 In ech of hem he fint somwhat That pleseth him. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) i. xv. 14 Late myn estate with som what be amendyd. 1484 Caxton æsop iii. xvi, I deye for honger; gyue me somwhat to ete. 1526 Tindale 2 Cor. iv. 8 We are in povertie: but not utterly without somwhat. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 340 Such as were wicked..made a shewe as though they would do some⁓what. a 1627 Middleton Witch iii. i, Nothing lives But has a joy in somewhat. 1693 Dryden Love Triumphant ii. i, I know not why, but somewhat prompts me To read this folded page. 1726 Swift Gulliver i. viii, I observed..somewhat that looked like a boat overturned. 1797–1805 S. & Ht. Lee Cant. Tales I. 13 He perceived somewhat glitter amid the grass. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xi, The tools were worth somewhat. 1842 N. Hawthorne in Longfellow's Life (1891) I. 441, I have been looking to receive somewhat in the shape of a letter..from you. 1855 Kingsley Westw. Ho! xiv, Some folk say he's not right in his head; or turned miser, or somewhat.

Prov. 1542 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 24 Alwaie somwhat is better then nothyng. 1562 ― Prov. & Epigr. 152 Boude wands serue for sumwhat.

β 1790 Mrs. Wheeler Westmld. Dial. 59 Yaurs may..seaav sumet agayn they er aud. 1838 J. Grant Sk. Lond. 39 There was no lack either of ‘summut’ to drink or ‘summut’ to eat. 1839 in Latham Hdbk. Eng. Lang. (1860) 148 Presently, zum 'ot..went dump! 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede i, A man must learn summat beside Gospel to make them things.

  c. Followed by an adjective.

1665 Hooke Microgr. 74 Insteed of meeting with what I look'd for, I met with somewhat more admirable. 1681 Hobbes Rhet. Pref., May be presumed to contain somewhat excellent. 1721 Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 4 The parts..are bound together by somewhat Oleaginous. 1751 Eliza Heywood Betsy Thoughtless I. 3 Miss Betsy, who had..somewhat extremely engaging in her manner of behaviour. 1836 Emerson Nature, Spirit Wks. (Bohn) II. 166 It is essential to a true theory of nature and of man, that it should contain somewhat progressive. 1850 Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. ix. §1. 125 [They] mistook the sensation for somewhat half divine.

  † d. by somewhat, by a certain (small) amount.

1653 Ramesey Astrol. Rest. 61 Yet he is the swifter of the two by somewhat.

  2. a. With dependent genitive: Some part, portion, amount, etc., of something.

1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7587 So þat vewe contreies beþ in engelonde, Þat monekes nabbeþ of normandie somwat in hor honde. a 1300 Cursor M. 4739 Len vs sumquat o þi sede, Was neuer ar sua mikel nede. 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 22 Þer..a noþer chapelle standes, & somwhat of þat tre, þei bond vntille his handes. c 1400 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 69 (MS. α), In þis citee is somwhat of þat famous wal. c 1440 Wycliffite Bible Gen. xl. 4 Sumdel [v.r. sum whatt] of tyme passide. 1588 Kyd Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 267 It is thought there is somewhat of theyr dooings in his works. 1658 W. Sanderson Graphice 33 Observe to hit the virtues of the Piece, and to refuse the Vices; for all Masters have somewhat of them both. a 1677 Barrow Serm. Wks. 1716 II. 71 Doth she not every where present spectacles of delight (somewhat of lively picture, somewhat of gay embroidery, somewhat of elegant symmetry). 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. III. liii. 147 By quitting somewhat of his royal prerogative. 1779 Mirror No. 10, By that too great niceness..they may mingle somewhat of disgust and uneasiness even in the highest and finest pleasures. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxvi, A conversation of which he could not help hearing somewhat. 1876 Stedman Vict. Poets vi. 232 It must be acknowledged that somewhat of this applies to Tennyson's variations upon Theocritus.

  b. Const. of with a positive adj. Now rare.

1650 Earl of Monmouth tr. Senault's Man bec. Guilty 36 Tis the desire of seeing somewhat of new which draws us forth. 1669 Dryden Tyrannic Love i. i, Somewhat of mournful, sure, my ears does wound. 1751 Eliza Heywood Betsy Thoughtless I. 12 These words, as it proved, had somewhat of prophetic in them. 1870 N. Hawthorne Eng. Note-bks. (1879) I. 273 With somewhat of fantastic in the shape of the clock-tower.

  c. = something n. 2 c.

1841 Helps Ess., On Treatment of Suitors (1842) 110 You will naturally endeavour to give somewhat of a detailed explanation. 1863 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer's Greece & Greeks II. 3 It was somewhat of a surprise to me. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) II. 88 He was also somewhat of a time-server.

  3. a. With limiting word or particle, as somewhat else, somewhat more, somewhat over, etc.

(a) 1390 Gower Conf. II. 96 As thogh I hadde lost a Ring Or somwhat elles. ? 1580 Lodge Reply Gosson's Sch. Abuse Wks. (Grosart) I. 29 These things are not the chiefest poynts you shote at; thers somewhat els sticketh in your stomak. 1665 J. North in Extr. State P. rel. Friends (1912) III. 235, I haue some-what els to ymparte vnto you. 1736 Ainsworth i. s.v. Some, I must talk of somewhat else.

(b) 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxv. (1495) 925 The Suparticularis nombre conteyneth in comparison alle the lesse nombre and somwhat ouer. 1626 B. Jonson Staple of N. iii. ii, You are a Courtier, Sir, or somewhat more. c 1643 Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 16, I shall therefore only say somewhat more of my mother.

  b. somewhat between, = something n. 1 d.

1823 Scott Quentin D. xxii, His gesture..was noble, and at the same time resigned, somewhat between the bearing of a feudal noble and of a Christian martyr.

  4. a. A thing, quality, etc., worth considering or regarding; a person of note or importance.

1382 Wyclif Gal. ii. 6 Forsoth thei that weren seen for to be sumwhat, no thing to me ȝauen to gidere. 1526 Tindale Gal. vi. 3 Iff a man seme to hym silfe that he is somwhat when in dede he is nothynge. 1663 Dryden Wild Gallant iv. ii, Nay, the fool is a handsome fool, that's somewhat. 1838 Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 32 It were a strange thing indeed if there were not somewhat in such men as Milton, Sidney [etc.]. 1842 Tennyson St. Sim. Styl. 124 They think that I am somewhat... The silly people take me for a saint. 1859 Masson Milton I. 721 The living society of a place is also somewhat.

  † b. of somewhat, for some purpose. Obs.^—1

a 1400 Sir Perc. 854 It servede hym of somwhatt The wylde fyre that he gatt.

  5. a. With a, the, etc., and pl. A certain undefined or unknown thing, quality, amount, etc.

1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence (1607) 30 ‘In the meane season I hope some-what may be done.’.. ‘That some-what will prove just nothing.’ 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 210 Pretty Somewhats they would meane, but sure They understand not themselves any more than I do. 1685 Gracian's Courtier's Orac. 220 Several men would be great, if they wanted not a somewhat, without which they never attain to the height of perfection. 1795 Jemima I. 218 He has a somewhat in his voice..so pleasant. 1806 H. Siddons Maid, Wife, & Widow II. 247 A habit of delivering his sentiments with a somewhat of more than dictatorial petulance. 1857 J. Raine Mem. J. Hodgson I. 126 Sending to Hodgson a somewhat which he had left behind him.

  b. With preceding adj.

1685 Gracian's Courtier's Orac. 117 The secret charm, or the unexpressible somewhat; which the French call Le Je-ne-sai-quoi. 1710 Berkeley Princ. Hum. Knowl. §80 Matter is an unknown somewhat—neither substance nor accident. 1785 M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) II. 229, I now believe, at least, that there is a certain somewhat, which produced a rotary motion in a sword. 1827 Coleridge Table-t. 30 Aug., Painting is the intermediate somewhat between a thought and a thing. 1855 Browning One Word More ix, Thus achievement lacks a gracious somewhat.

  c. Const. of or with adj. following.

1817 Keatinge Trav. I. 272 Still here attaches..a somewhat of disgraceful to the idea of intoxication. 1825 Scott Fam. Lett. II. 354 They require the atmosphere of a cigar and the amalgam of a summat comfortable. a 1858 R. A. Vaughan Ess. & Rem. (1858) I. 50 A somewhat of their spirit of love..he found ever afterwards indispensable to his heart.

  B. adv. In a certain degree or measure; to some (slight or small) extent; slightly, a little; rather.
  1. a. Qualifying a verb.

c 1200 Ormin 16882 Þærþurrh wass sene þatt he þa Summ⁓whatt bigunnenn haffde To lefenn o þe Laferrd Crist. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 71 (Fairf.), Ye be diligent To forthren me somwhat in my labour. c 1410 Sir Cleges 147 Jn with hyr he gan goo, And sumwatt mendyd hys chere. c 1440 Partonope 4915 To her suster dyd she spek And somwhat her hert to her breke. 1526 Tindale Acts xxvi. 28 Sumwhatt thou bryngest me in mynde for to be come christen. 1577–82 Breton Flourish upon Fancie Wks. (Grosart) I. 17/2 These Drugges,..though they sumwhat please the tast, yet make the bosom stinke. 1646 Gaule Sel. Cas. 56 Hereupon it hath been somwhat dissented. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 308/1 The short Graver, which turneth up somewhat at the end. 1780 Mirror No. 82, Sir George Rodney's success has somewhat lessened their force. 1812 Cary Dante, Parad. ii. 53 She somewhat smiled. 1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship 389 The Forms of these ejaculations varied somewhat.

  b. Qualifying a preposition.

1492 Hen. VII Let. in G. Griffiths Hist. Tong (1894) 224 Desiring you that somwhat bifor the said tyme ye wol addresse you unto us. 1600 in Ingleby Shaks. Cent. Praise (Shaks. Soc.) 35 Somwhat before the play began. 1735 Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Descr. viii. 91 To drink somewhat beyond the bounds of exact Temperance. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 10 Spirit of nitre consists of somewhat above one fourth of pure acid. 1819 Byron Juan i. i, Sent to the devil somewhat ere his time.

  c. somewhat as, in much the same way, to some extent, as.

1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 1 We may think of Voltairism in France, somewhat as we think of Catholicism. 1894 Crockett Stickit Minister 16 It ran or rather hirpled somewhat as follows.

  2. a. Qualifying an adjective, adverb, or clause.

(a) a 1300 Cursor M. 11054 Þat mensking þam bi-tuin, Was sum-quat diuers, als i wene. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame 1097 But for the ryme ys lyght and lewed Yit make hyt sumwhat agreable. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 48 If þat ilke mater be not hard but sumwhat neische. 1466 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 324 For a sadelle sumwhat worne, ij.s. viij.d. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xliii. 144 His coloure was sum what pale. 1595 in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. V. 335 His vtterance was somwhat vnready. 1667 Dryden & Dk. Newcastle Sir M. Mar-all v. ii, Would I were hanged if it be not somewhat probable. 1750 tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 92 [It] is a stone of a crystal colour, and somewhat obscure. 1780 Mirror No. 105, Somewhat a-kin to the lovers of detraction are the offence-takers. 1826 Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 15 Their practice is governed by principles somewhat different. 1885 Manch. Exam. 12 May 5/2 It would seem..that the struggle was somewhat indecisive.

(b) 1542 Boorde Dyetary iv. (1870) 238 The seller vnder the pantry, sette somwhat abase. 1592 Kyd Murther. I. Brewen Wks. (1901) 290 When it drew some what late. 1637 Milton Lycidas 17 Begin, and somwhat loudly sweep the string. 1797–1805 S. & Ht. Lee Cant. T. I. 195 One, who, having somewhat unexpectedly succeeded to the family title. 1851 Mrs. Browning Casa Guidi Wind. ii. 478 If..we Are counted somewhat deeply in their debt. 1869 Ruskin Q. of Air i. §32 Somewhat saucily.

(c) 1578 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 35 Mony injurious wordis, sumquhat in contempt of our Soverane Lord. 1608 E. Grimstone Hist. France (1611) 457 A cunning woman, and some-what of her fathers humor. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. i. 27 Now was Christian somwhat in a muse. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. ix, The hounds and huntsmen seemed somewhat at a stand. 1828 Lytton Pelham liii, Somewhat of a lugubrious nature. 1833 H. Martineau Berkeley i. iii. 49 Martin looked somewhat at a loss for an answer, till his wife supplied him with one.

  b. With a comparative adj. or adv.

c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 46 It es sumwhat hyer þan oþer placez of þe citee. 1484 Caxton Fables of Auian xxii, I blowe in hit for to haue it somwhat more cold than hit is. 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshman (Percy Soc.) 6 And somwhat wyser be they also than we. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lv. §5 Somewhat more plainly, to shew a true immediate reason..we acknowledge [etc.]. 1600 Pory tr. Leo's Africa vi. 275 The men of this place are black, but the women are some⁓what fairer. 1696 Whiston Th. Earth iv. (1722) 317 The Lower Earthy Strata would be settling somewhat closer together. 1768 Woman of Honor III. 233 A range of thirteen chests rather somewhat larger than the common size. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 173 The pan being brought to somewhat more than a red heat. 1866 Carlyle in Mrs. C.'s Lett. III. 255 She..went home somewhat better. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 359 Tell me.., in somewhat plainer terms, what you mean!

  c. With of the and a superlative adj. or adv.

1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer iv. (1577) Y vij b, Not to make wise to abhorre companie and talke, though somewhat of the wantonest. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. 30, I got mee (though somewhat of the latest) hungry. 1656 Heylin Surv. France 218 The revenues of this Archbishoprick are somewhat of the meanest. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xvi, Your morning-draught has been somewhat of the strongest.

  d. With a or an inserted before the adj. (or n.) qualified.

1588 J. Read Compend. Method. 69 b, Barriga..receaued a wounde in his brest, with somewhat a long sword. a 1646 Gregory Posthuma (1650) 198 This was somwhat a tolerable impietie, for such great Astronomers to adore the Host of Heaven. 1680 R. L'Estrange Erasm. Colloq. 79 [He] may vouchsafe his Assistance also unto us, who are some⁓what a larger Congregation. 1779 Johnson Drake Wks. 1787 IV. 417 Being obliged by this accident to somewhat a longer residence among the Moors. 1817 Whewell in Mrs. S. Douglas Life (1881) 25, I must acknowledge myself somewhat an idle correspondent so far as writing goes. 1891 A. Mozley Lett. J. H. Newman I. iii. 103 There were certainly..definite points about him which made him somewhat a difficulty.

  e. Preceded by an article or pron.

1779 Mirror No. 61, The contempt in which, to a somewhat unreasonable degree, he holds modern refinement. 1820 Scott Monast. xxi, The cooling my somewhat too much inflamed visage. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 180 Her admonitions were given in a somewhat perfunctory manner.

  f. Used as adj.

1819 T. Moore in Mem. (1853) II. 250 Lady Frances W. was to have come with them, but, to my somewhat disappointment, she had been called away.

  † 3. somewhat{ddd}somewhat, partly{ddd}partly.

1390 Gower Conf. I. 2, I wolde..wryte a bok betwen the tweie, Somewhat of lust, somewhat of lore. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) i. xxx. (1859) 34 He is lettid by the wey somwhat by foly of hym self, somwhat by other. a 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 38 Þai may ete and drynk and go, and somwhat sitte and somwhat slepe. 1552 Latimer Serm. (1607) 301 A king.., which was not their lawfull nor naturall king, but somewhat with craft and subtilty, and somewhat with power had gotten the Crowne.

  † 4. Followed by with the and a superlative, = something adv. 2 f. Obs. rare.

1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 252 b, [She] begoonne some⁓what with the soonest to have whyte heares in hir hedde. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. Pref. Ep. 2 Such discourse which might peraduenture be somewhat with the longest. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 215 A small towne this is, standing somewhat with the lowest.

  5. somewhat like, in various senses (see like a. 2 e, f).

1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 229 Though she were a lustie bounsing rampe somewhat like Gallamilla. 1611 Cotgr., Bellastre,..passable, so so, some⁓what like. a 1620 Dyke Serm. (1640) 379 If a man will sell a commodity, hee will sell it somewhat like, or hee will keepe it. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Amb. 165 It was somewhat like a Sturgeon, but was much whiter. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) VI. 241 Why this is talking somewhat like. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede viii, It's summat-like to see such a man as that i' the desk of a Sunday! 1890 Science-Gossip XXVI. 194 This is somewhat like the one examined by Schrötter.

  6. more than somewhat, very, extremely; very much.

1930 D. Runyon in Collier's 13 Sept. 7/3, I am now more nervous than somewhat. 1938 D. Wheatley Uncharted Seas xi. 190, I thought my nerve was pretty good, but this scares me more than somewhat. 1945 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) V. 40 Citizens have been known to leave the premises.., being more than somewhat apprehensive of future developments. 1964 Wodehouse Frozen Assets viii. 143 She said quite a number of things that wounded my sensitive nature more than somewhat. 1974 V. Gielgud In such a Night vii. 67 It burned me up more than somewhat.

Oxford English Dictionary