From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Any \A"ny\, a. & pron. [OE. [ae]ni[yogh], [ae]ni, eni, ani, oni,
AS. [=ae]nig, fr. [=a]n one. It is akin to OS. [=e]nig, OHG.
einic, G. einig, D. eenig. See {One}.]
1. One indifferently, out of an indefinite number; one
indefinitely, whosoever or whatsoever it may be.
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Note: Any is often used in denying or asserting without
limitation; as, this thing ought not be done at any
time; I ask any one to answer my question.
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No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither
knoweth any man the Father, save the Son. --Matt.
xi. 27.
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2. Some, of whatever kind, quantity, or number; as, are there
any witnesses present? are there any other houses like it?
"Who will show us any good?" --Ps. iv. 6.
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Note: It is often used, either in the singular or the plural,
as a pronoun, the person or thing being understood;
anybody; anyone; (pl.) any persons.
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If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, .
. . and it shall be given him. --Jas. i. 5.
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That if he found any of this way, whether they
were men or women, he might bring them bound unto
Jerusalem. --Acts ix. 2.
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{At any rate}, {In any case}, whatever may be the state of
affairs; anyhow.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
at any rate
adv 1: used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a
previous statement; "Anyhow, he is dead now"; "I think
they're asleep; anyhow, they're quiet"; "I don't know
what happened to it; anyway, it's gone"; "anyway, there
is another factor to consider"; "I don't know how it
started; in any case, there was a brief scuffle"; "in any
event, the government faced a serious protest"; "but at
any rate he got a knighthood for it" [syn: {anyhow},
{anyway}, {anyways}, {in any case}, {at any rate}, {in
any event}]
2: if nothing else (`leastwise' is informal and `leastways' is
colloquial); "at least he survived"; "they felt--at any rate
Jim felt--relieved though still wary"; "the influence of
economists--or at any rate of economics--is far-reaching"
[syn: {at least}, {leastways}, {leastwise}, {at any rate}]
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