Etymology

know-it-all

Today it means: Someone who claims to be knowledgeable or an expert in something, obnoxiously dismissing the opinions, advice, suggestions, etc. of others. Full definition →

English all ← Middle English all ← Old English eall
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵneh₃-
  2. Proto-Germanic*knēaną
  3. Proto-West Germanic*knāan
  4. Old Englishcnāwan
  5. Middle Englishknowen
  6. Englishknow
  7. Englishit
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-der.?
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂elnós
  10. Proto-Germanic*allaz
  11. Proto-West Germanic*all
  12. Old Englisheall
  13. Middle Englishall
  14. Englishall
  15. English todayknow-it-all

From know + it + all.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.