Alls

/ɔːlz/ pronoun, noun

Definition

Nonstandard or dialect form of 'all'; sometimes used in phrases like 'all's well that ends well.'

Etymology

From Old English 'eall,' a Germanic root. The 's' ending appears in archaic or poetic English, notably in Shakespeare's famous phrase 'All's well that ends well.'

Kelly Says

Shakespeare used 'alls' as a contraction of 'all is' in his title—this grammatical shorthand was common in Early Modern English and shows how contractions have a much longer history than we might think!

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