Meaning
Every person without distinction or exception; everyone in a particular group or place. Now mildly formal or old-fashioned. It normally refers to people, often with a suggestion that information or access was given more widely than was sensible. Regional use: Medieval English and Scots evidence; now chiefly British and other Commonwealth English.
Origin
Sundry descends from Old English syndrig, meaning separate, distinct or individual, so it did not originally mean a miscellaneous collection. The pairing all and sundry is recorded in the late fourteenth century and effectively gathers the whole group together with its separate members. A 1389 record from the Wemyss area of Scotland contains the expression; that surviving regional record establishes medieval use but cannot identify who first formed or spoke it.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Usage Examples
- The draft was circulated to all and sundry before the committee had approved it.
- He told all and sundry that the old theatre would reopen in September.
- Inviting all and sundry would overwhelm the small hall within minutes.