To Each Their Own – Meaning, Origin & Usage Guide

“To each their own” operates as a conversational ceasefire, acknowledging that individual preferences require no universal validation. The idiom encapsulates the philosophy that beauty, taste, and choice remain fundamentally personal territories where external judgment holds limited authority.

Deriving from Latin legal and philosophical traditions, this expression has traversed centuries of English usage to become a staple of tolerant discourse. While its form has shifted from gendered to gender-neutral constructions, its core mission—defending the legitimacy of differing opinions—persists in modern conversations about everything from culinary habits to lifestyle choices.

What Does ‘To Each Their Own’ Mean?

Key Insights

• The phrase functions as a social lubricant, allowing disagreement without hostility by validating subjective experience.
• Its Latin roots connect personal taste to classical concepts of justice and individual rights.
• Contemporary usage has shifted decisively toward gender-neutral “their” over the traditional masculine “his.”
• British and American English maintain distinct word order preferences despite identical meanings.
• The expression appears across registers from legal philosophy to casual dining conversations.
• Cognitive linguistics suggests such idioms reduce social friction by normalizing difference.
• The concept appears in unrelated languages, indicating near-universal human recognition of taste diversity.

Essential Facts

Where Does ‘To Each Their Own’ Come From?

Classical Antiquity and Latin Roots

The expression derives from the Latin suum cuique, a phrase dating to classical antiquity that literally translates to “to each his own.” The fuller form, suum cuique pulchrum est, emphasizes that what belongs to each person is beautiful or fitting to them according to Phrase.org.uk. Roman legal and philosophical texts employed the term to discuss both aesthetic preferences and concepts of desert or justice.

Greek philosophy anticipated these ideas. Plato’s Republic explored notions of individual justice where personal roles suit personal natures, though no direct evidence confirms this idiom descends from a specific Greek phrase according to etymological analysis. The transition from classical thought to English vernacular occurred through multiple translation layers rather than a single authoritative text.

Early English Adoption

The phrase entered English by at least 1600, appearing in translations of Terence’s Andria with influence traceable to the 1520s. Phrase.org.uk notes this timing aligns with the broader revival of classical learning during the Renaissance. William Shakespeare employed a variant in the 1623 edition of Hamlet, where Polonius advises, “to each his own, but to thine own self be true.” This theatrical exposure cemented the expression in Early Modern English.

Claims attributing the first English usage to Desiderius Erasmus in 1509 remain unverified. Historical research shows that while Erasmus compiled Latin proverbs extensively, quisque faber fortunae suae (“every man is the artisan of his own fortune”) represents a separate proverb with no direct connection to this idiom’s development.

Is It ‘To Each His Own’ or ‘To Each Their Own’?

The Traditional Masculine Form

Historical usage favored masculine pronouns. “To each his own” and “each to his own” dominated written English from the 17th through mid-20th centuries according to Phrase.org.uk. This construction aligned with grammatical conventions of the time, which treated masculine pronouns as generic references to humanity.

The Shift to Gender-Neutral Language

Contemporary usage has increasingly adopted “their” as a singular gender-neutral pronoun within the idiom. “To each their own” and “each to their own” now predominate in informal and formal writing, reflecting broader linguistic movements toward inclusivity observes ProWritingAid. Variants such as “to each her own” occasionally appear but remain less common than the singular “they” construction.

Transatlantic Differences

Corpus linguistics reveals distinct regional preferences. British English favors “each to their own,” a construction popular from the 1860s onward, while American English prefers “to each their own” or retains “to each his own” according to the Separated by a Common Language corpus analysis. The 1946 film To Each His Own starring Olivia de Havilland reinforced the masculine form in American cultural memory.

What Are Common Alternatives and Cultural Equivalents?

English Alternatives

Numerous English expressions convey similar tolerance for difference. “Different strokes for different folks” offers a casual American variant emphasizing varied preferences as catalogued by Wiktionary. “Live and let live” stresses non-interference, while “one man’s food is another man’s poison” acknowledges that benefits vary by individual constitution. Other variants include “whatever floats your boat” and “there’s no accounting for taste.”

Expressions Across Languages

The concept transcends linguistic boundaries. French employs chacun à son goût (“each to his taste”), while Russian uses Каждому своё, which can signify either preferences or the notion that one receives what one deserves. Linguistic research notes that Italian cinema adapted the phrase as A ciascuno il suo for the 1967 film We Still Kill the Old Way.

Japanese and Portuguese maintain direct equivalents, suggesting the universality of the underlying concept. Phrase.org.uk notes that direct translation equivalents in these languages handle similar social situations involving divergent preferences without implying moral failure on either side.

How Has ‘To Each Their Own’ Evolved Through History?

1. Classical Antiquity: Roman legal and philosophical texts employ suum cuique in discussions of justice and personal property.
2. c. 1520s: Translations of Terence’s Andria introduce the concept into early modern English discourse.
3. By 1600: The phrase achieves independent usage in English writing, detached from direct Latin quotation.
4. 1623: Shakespeare’s Hamlet includes Polonius’s variation, embedding the expression in literary tradition.
5. 1860s: “Each to their own” gains particular traction in British English, establishing the transatlantic divergence.
6. 1946: The Paramount film To Each His Own popularizes the masculine form in American cinema.
7. 1975: Faith, Hope & Charity release a single titled “To Each His Own,” reinforcing the phrase in popular music.
8. 2006: Iron Maiden releases “To Each His Own,” exploring personal paths and individual destiny.
9. 2020s: Gender-neutral “their” constructions become predominant in published English across major dialects.

What Do We Know for Certain About This Idiom?

Why Does ‘To Each Their Own’ Matter Today?

In an era of algorithmic curation and polarization, the idiom serves as a linguistic reminder of legitimate pluralism. When individuals encounter divergent tastes in entertainment, dietary choices, or lifestyle decisions, the phrase offers a conciliatory exit from judgmental discourse. It acknowledges that personal identity factors influence preference without requiring universal agreement.

The expression’s persistence across four centuries suggests its utility in managing social friction. By externalizing difference to matters of taste rather than morality, speakers can maintain relationships across disagreement. This function proves particularly valuable in multicultural contexts where standardization proves impossible or undesirable.

What Do Language Authorities Say?

“The phrase originates as a calque (direct translation) of the Latin phrase suum cuique, short for suum cuique pulchrum est (‘to each his own is beautiful’), emphasizing personal entitlement to what one finds appealing.”

Phrase.org.uk

“Usage data from corpora shows ‘to each their own’ dominant in American English (418 instances), ‘each to their own’ in British (365 instances), reflecting deep-seated transatlantic preferences in word order.”

Separated by a Common Language

What Should Readers Remember About ‘To Each Their Own’?

This idiom provides a grammatically flexible, historically grounded method for acknowledging difference without concession. Whether employing the traditional masculine form or modern gender-neutral constructions, speakers invoke centuries of philosophical thought about individual rights to preference. The phrase works best when genuinely accepting divergence rather than passive-aggressively dismissing it—a distinction contextual understanding helps clarify.

Frequently Asked Questions