Sämtlich

Sämtlich is a German adjective meaning "all" or "the whole," used to indicate the totality of items in a group. It is more formal and emphatic than the everyday word alle, and it frequently appears in administrative, legal, and academic writing to stress inclusiveness.

Etymology: Sämtlich derives from an older form sammtlich, from sammt meaning "together, whole" plus the suffix -lich. The modern spelling with umlaut ä is standard in contemporary German; sammtlich survives mainly in historical texts or as a stylistic variant.

Usage and grammar: It is primarily used attributively before a noun, with plural nouns taking the form sämtliche … For example: sämtliche Unterlagen, sämtliche Bücher. With a definite article the ending becomes sämmlichen in the plural: die sämtlichen Unterlagen. In neuter singular phrases one says sämtliches Geld. Predicative use is rare but possible in formal contexts, e.g., Die Unterlagen sind sämtlich geprüft.

Examples: Wir haben sämtliche Unterlagen überprüft. Die sämtlichen Berichte wurden fristgerecht eingereicht. Sämtliches Geld wurde zurückerstattet. Beachten Sie bitte sämtliche Vorschriften.

Synonyms and nuance: Alle is the common everyday equivalent. Gesammte or gesamte can be used in similar contexts but may carry slightly different emphasis; vollständig or gänzlich are close in meaning but differ in nuance and register. Sämtlich suggests completeness and inclusiveness of every item in the set.

See also: The word is used in formal registers and is cognate with similar forms in other Germanic languages (for example Swedish samtliga).