ever
/ˈɛvə(ɹ)/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.66 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
Continuously, constantly, all the time (for the complete duration).
adv
At any time.
adv
Indicates experiential aspect, once; has or have (done something) before.
Example Sentences
- "It was ever thus."
- "[…] the Lord Treasurer, who ever secretly feigned himself to be a Moderator and Mollifier of the Catholicks Afflictions […]"
- "Let us ever remember that our conception, our comprehension, our feeling of God must be ever imperfect, yet should be ever advancing. We must not make God: we must find Him and feel Him more and more."
- "“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache."
- "The library staffs of the Karaton Surakarta's Sasana Pustaka, the Mangku- nagaran's Reksa Pustaka, and the Museum Radyapustaka were ever helpful and generous with their time."
- "As with the rest of macroeconomics, the issues have to be rethought in a way that makes the ever-imperfect knowledge of market participants and policymakers an integral part of the analysis."
Etymology
From Middle English ever, from Old English ǣfre, originally a phrase whose first element undoubtedly consists of Old English ā (“ever, always”) + in (“in”) + an element possibly from feorh (“life, existence”) (dative fēore). Compare Old English ā tō fēore (“ever in life”), Old English feorhlīf (“life”) from feorh (“life”) + līf (“life”). Sense 5 of the adverb was likely formed by association with never, which also carries the meaning of did not in colloquial Singaporean and Malaysian English. Also, compare Chinese 有 … 過 /有 … 过 (yǒu ... guò / jau⁵ ... gwo³, “has […] before”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₂ey-, ever, ǣfre