ever

ever
\ \ [OE] For such a common and longestablished word, the origins of ever are surprisingly obscure. It has no relatives in other Germanic languages, so it must be a purely English creation. Its first element probably comes from Germanic *aiwō (which is also represented in English ayeever’ [12] and either, and is related to Latin aevumage’, source of English eternal). The second element is a puzzle, though. Candidates that have been put forward include Old English feorhlife’ (thus, ‘ever in life’) and Old English byreoccasion’ (giving the underlying sense ‘on any occasion’). Never was formed in the Old English period with the negative particle ne.
\ \ Cf.AYE, EITHER, ETERNAL

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Ever — Ev eradv. [OE. ever, [ae]fre, AS. [ae]fre; perh. akin to AS. [=a] always. Cf. {Aye}, {Age},{Evry}, {Never}.] [Sometimes contracted into {e er}.] 1. At any time; at any period or point of time. [1913 Webster] No man ever yet hated his own flesh.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ever so — Ever Ev eradv. [OE. ever, [ae]fre, AS. [ae]fre; perh. akin to AS. [=a] always. Cf. {Aye}, {Age},{Evry}, {Never}.] [Sometimes contracted into {e er}.] 1. At any time; at any period or point of time. [1913 Webster] No man ever yet hated his own… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • EveR-1 — ( ko. 에버원) is the world s second female android (gynoid), developed by a team of South Korean scientists from the [http://eng.kitech.re.kr/ Korea Institute of Industrial Technology] in Korea University of Science and Technology. The project is… …   Wikipedia

  • ever — 1. as intensifier. In informal conversation ever is sometimes used as an intensifier immediately after an interrogative word such as who, what, why, etc.: Who ever can that be? / What ever did you say to him? / Why ever should you think that?… …   Modern English usage

  • ever — [ev′ər] adv. [ME < OE æfre, prob. < WGmc bases of OE a, always, ever (see AYE1) + ? feorr, FAR] 1. at all times; always [lived happily ever after] 2. at any time [have you ever seen an eclipse?] 3. at all; by any chance; in any way …   English World dictionary

  • ever — ► ADVERB 1) at any time. 2) used in comparisons for emphasis: better than ever. 3) always. 4) increasingly; constantly: ever larger sums. 5) used for emphasis in questions expressing astonishment: why ever did you do it? ● ever and anon …   English terms dictionary

  • Ever — can refer to:* Ever is an adverb in the English language. * Eber (Standard Hebrew: unicode|ʿÉver) is a character in the Bible. * Ever is a Marvel Comics character. * Ever , an album by Love Spirals Downwards. * Ever , an album by the British… …   Wikipedia

  • ever- — [ evər ] prefix always or continuously: used with many adjectives and ing verb forms: paintings by Picasso, Renoir, and the ever popular Van Gogh the ever changing countryside ever increasing numbers of students …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • ever — O.E. æfre ever, at any time, always; no cognates in any other Germanic language; perhaps a contraction of a in feore, lit. ever in life (the expression a to fore is common in O.E. writings). First element is almost certainly related to O.E. a… …   Etymology dictionary

  • ever- — UK [evə(r)] US [evər] prefix always or continuously used with many adjectives and ‘ ing’ verb forms paintings by Picasso, Renoir, and the ever popular Van Gogh the ever changing countryside ever increasing numbers of students Thesaurus: prefixes …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ever — ist der Familienname von: Valter Ever (1902 1981), estnischer Leichtathlet Ita Ever (* 1931), estnische Schauspielerin Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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