ever

▪ I. † ˈever, n. Obs.
    Forms: 1 eofer, eofor, efer, efor, 3 eaver, 4 ever.
    [OE. eofer = OHG. (and mod.Ger.) eber, ON. iǫfurr:—OTeut. *eƀuro-z, allied to OSlav. veprĭ, L. aper.]
    1. A wild boar.

c 1000 Ags. Ps. lxxix. [lxxx.] 13 Hine utan of wuda eoferas wrotað and wilde deor westað and frettað. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 182 Sele þu him..flæsc eofores. c 1230 Hali Meid. 13 Ha in hare wurðunge as eaueres forroteden.

    2. Comb. ever-fern: a. the Polypody, Polypodium vulgare; b. Osmunda regalis.

c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 188 Ðeos wyrt man..efor fearn nemneð. c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 135 Filix arboratica, eferfearn. c 1050 Ags. Voc. ibid. 297 Filix minuta, eoforfearn. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. C. 438 He busked hym a bour..Of hay & of euer-ferne & erbez a fewe. a 1387 Sinon. Barthol. (Anecd. Oxon.) 32 Osmunda, herba est, everferne. a 1400 Sloane MS. 5. 9 b, Osmundo..eueruern. 14.. Recipes in Rel. Ant. I. 52 For the stane..tak everferne that grewes on the ake.

▪ II. ever, adv.
    (ˈɛvə(r))
    Forms: α. 1–3 ǽfre (north. ǽfra, 2 ævre, 3 ævere), 2–3 afre, efre, efer(e, 3 aver(e, avre, eur, 2–4 evr(e, evere, 3–4 hevere, 2–5 eaver, 2–6 evir, -yr, 9 dial. ivver, 2– ever. β. 3 ær, er, 4–7 ere, 6– e'er. Also α. 3 ȝavre, 6 yeffor. β. 4 yer.
    [OE. ǽfre. Not found in other Teut. langs.; the ulterior etymology is doubtful. Connexion of some kind with OE. á, ay is probable on account of the sense.
    If it be a compound of á, the second element should begin with f or less probably with b, and contain the vowel (iː). The most plausible suggestion hitherto made is that of Cosijn (Taalk. Bijdragen II. 267), that it is equivalent to Goth. *aiw fa{iacu}rhwau ‘ever in life’; cf. the common OE. phrase á tó feore in similar sense; also OHG. neonaltre never, lit. ‘never in life’. This is supported by the agreement of the final -a of the ONorthumb. ǽfra with the ending of the locative (dat.) of the -u declension, to which the n. feorh life (:—*ferhwus) originally belonged. The recorded forms of feorh, however, do not account for the umlaut; but cf. the cognate OE. f{iacu}ras, OS. firihôs, ON. f{iacu}rar ‘men’. A different suggestion has been made by Prof. G. Hempl in Mod. Lang. Notes IV. (1889) 417, viz. that the word is an adverbial case of a subst. compound f. á + byre (:—buri) event, occasion. On this view its formation would be closely analogous to that of Ger. jemals. With regard to the umlaut Prof. Hempl compares ǽrende:—*árundi; with regard to the f from b he compares wéofod for *w{iacu}h-bed (or -béod).]
    I. Always, at all times; in all cases. (All these senses, exc. 1 b and 5 b, are now arch. or merely literary.)
    1. a. Throughout all time, eternally; throughout all past or all future time; perpetually (often hyperbolically or in relative sense: throughout one's life, etc.). arch. Also strengthened ever and ever, † ever ay.

a 1000 Cynewulf Crist 111 Ðu æfre wære. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 57 Þet is and wes and efre scal beon iblecced ofer al. c 1200 Ormin 206 Icc amm Gabriæl Þatt æfre & æfre stannde Biforenn Godd. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 173 Þe endelese dai is afre abuten ende. a 1300 Cursor M. 13180 (Gött.) Þarfor euer ay worth hir wa! Þat god man dos wid tresun sla. 1340 Ayenb. 71 Þe oþre lyue þet eure wyþoute ende ssel yleste. 1500–20 Dunbar ‘Full oft I muse’ vi, The lyfe that evir dois lest. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Offices 34 That wee may euer liue with thee in the worlde to come. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. ii. (Arb.) 73 It [the island] was not euer compassed about with the sea. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 123 Let me liue here euer. 1662 Bk. Com. Prayer (1844) 113 He liveth and reigneth ever one God. 1733 Ld. Mayor of London Let. 6 Aug. in Swift's Lett., A set of great men, who will ever be an honour..to their country. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. (1858) 152 Ever must the Sovereign of Mankind be fitly entitled King.

    b. In sense limited by a following adv., prep., or conj., as in ever after(-ward), ever before, ever since, throughout all the time before or after a specified date.

α a 1300 Cursor M. 3942 (Gött.) Euer siþen [c 1340 Trin. euer aftir] halted he. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 510 Hevere bifore and evere aftir. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. clxxxvi [clxxxii]. 565 He hath assembled toguyder into his house..a great noumbre of menne, and hath kepte them there couertly euersyth the ferst of Whitsontyde. 1535 Coverdale Isa. li. 9 Euer and sence the worlde beganne. 1714 Addison Spect. No. 556 ¶7 The Coffee-houses have ever since been my chief Places of Resort. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. i. 104 Ever after..the phraseology of the Greeks prevailed. 1865 H. Kingsley Hillyars & B. xxxv, It must have been raining cats and dogs ever since I had been out. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 364 This sign I have had ever since I was a child.

β 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. i. 23 My desires like fell and cruell hounds, Ere since pursue me.

    c. Yours ever: a phrase used in the subscription of a letter (cf. yours poss. pron. 1 c). Also ellipt. ever.

[1601 R. Lytton Let. 19 Sept. in S. Williams John Chamberlain's Lett. 118 And so, with the best wishes of an assured friend and loving kinsman, I committ you to God. Your ever soe, R. Lytton.] 1611 T. Heywood Golden Age sig. A2, As this is received, so you shall find the rest: either fearefull further to proceede, or encouraged boldly to follow. Yours ever T.H. 1763 Boswell Let. 28 July (1924) I. 38 My kind service to Bob. Yours ever, with most sincere affection, James Boswell. 1807 Byron Let. 6 Mar. (1898) I. 122 Poetic fame is by no means the ‘acme’ of my wishes.—Adieu. Yours ever, Byron. 1914 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 169 Yours ever, T. E. Lawrence. 1934 Ibid. 809 It's what I call making use of history. Ever, T. E. S. 1954 A. S. C. Ross in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen LV. 28 People who know each other really well..sign Yours ever.

    2. a. At all times, on all occasions, on each occasion; = always i. arch. and north. dial.

c 1040 Rule St. Benet (Logeman) 12 Myndiᵹ siᵹ [se abbod] æfre, þæt [etc.]. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 9 Efere to þam setteres dei hes comen..to þan sinagoge. c 1205 Lay. 547 Brutus heom com æfter & æfer [c 1275 euere] he heom leide on. a 1325 Prov. Hendyng xxxiii, Ever out cometh evel sponne web. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour E v, Of euyll lyf cometh euer an euylle ende. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. 748 As they passed by, ever the Parisyens enclyned themselfe to them. 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. ii. 162 Your poore Seruant euer. 1632 Lithgow Trav. ii. 49 They were dayly molested and besieged, but the victory fell euer to the Christians. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 54/1 The Prelate of the Garter..is ever the Bishop of Winchester. a 1718 Penn Life Wks. 1726 I. 137 Envy and Railing..almost ever follow. 1771 Goldsm. Hist. Eng. IV. 378 He attacked the largest ships, and almost ever with success. 1812 Woodhouse Astron. ix. 70 Longitude is ever measured from the intersection of the equator and ecliptic. 1832 H. Martineau Homes Abroad viii. 113 The rude state which is ever the consequence of a scarcity of knowledge. 1885 North Star 1 July 3/2 Lord Randolph..has been a hard hitter, but he has ever hit fair.

    b. Idiomatic phrases. † ever among (see among B. 2); also in same sense † ever between. ever and again; ever and anon (see again 4 b, anon 6 b). † ever and oft(e(n: with constant reiteration, continually. † ever now and now, ever now and then, ever now and then among: ‘every now and then’. † ever umwhile (ME.): every now and then, from time to time. Obs.

1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137. §3 Hi læiden ᵹæildes o[n] þe tunes æureumwile. c 1230 Hali Meid. 27 Nawt ane on ende; ah eauer umbehwile. a 1300 Cursor M. 14336 (Cott.) Honurd be þou fader, euer and oft. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 7 Elsynus bisshop of Wynchestre evere among fondede to have þe see. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vi. xviii, And euer now and now came alle the Knyghtes home. Ibid. x. lxxxviii, And euer bitwene, sir Tristram resorted vnto Ioyous gard. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 250 b, Who when he had clene beggered hymself w{supt} expenses, would euer now and then thus saie vnto the birde [etc.]. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 207 Besides these written ordinaunces of the law, he did ever now and then among, rayse uppe Prophetes unto them. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. ix. 41 And ever and anon, with rosy red, The bashful blood her snowy cheeks did dye. 1632 Lithgow Trav. ii. 46 Dalmatians..by Sea with Frigots and Brigantines did euer and often vexe the Venetian Commerce. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Bergerac's Comical Hist. i. 71 Ever now and then I looked upwards. 1739 J. Huxham Ess. Fevers (1750) 312 A spoonful or two..should be given ever and anon. 1821 Byron Sardan. ii. i. 551 And ever and anon some falling bolt Proves his divinity. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 274 Ever and anon we are landed in particulars. 1883 P. Robinson Fishes of Fancy 90 Ever and again the husky voices of narwhal and shark..murmured, etc.

    3. a. Constantly, incessantly, perpetually; with continual recurrence. arch. † ever forth (cf. Ger. immerfort): continually, constantly. † ever in one: unchangingly. Obs.

a 1000 Cædmon's Crist & Satan 297 æfre forth. c 1000 ælfric Deut. xxxi. 27 æfer ᵹe fliton onᵹen God. a 1123 O.E. Chron. an. 1101 His men mycel to hearme æfre ᵹedydon. c 1205 Lay. 1276 Þritti dawes & þritti night heo ferden efer [c 1275 efre] forð riht. c 1230 Hali Meid. 5 Babilones folc weorreð & warpeð eauer toward tis tur. c 1290 Lives Saints (1887) 33 Þis Abbod hire siwede euere forth. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 546 But he neuer hir coude fynde But euer in oon ylyke sad and kynde. c 1430 Lydg. Bochas ii. xxvii. (1554) 62 b, With these two vices, he brenneth euer in one. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 17 ¶2 Pedants..will ever be carping. 1837 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (ed. 2) III. vii. 99 We are ever sinning, we must ever be renewing our sorrow. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xviii. 186 The same tale..we have ever to tell in the English history of these years.

    b. With comparatives to mark a constant increase or decrease, esp. before the correlatives the—the (OE. swá—swá, ME. se—se, þe—þe).

α 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 Ðæt lastede þa xix wintre wile Stephne was king & æure it was uuerse & uuerse. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 51 Þis fis is of swulc cunde þet euer se he mare strengðdeð him to sw[i]mminde mid þe watere se he mare swimmeð abac. c 1230 Hali Meid. 27, & eauer se hare murðe wes mare togederes; se þe sorhe is sarre at te twinninge. a 1300 Cursor M. 14441 (Gött.) And ȝeit troud noght þaa felun Bot eur mistroud mar and mare. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 173 Evere þe lenger þat þou lyfest to lyve bi Goddis lawe, evere þe harder it, etc. c 1440 Ipomydon 1833 (Weber) Euyr the fayrer that she spake, The fouler braydes gan he make. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 144 He was euer more quyet & restfull in hymselfe. 1833 Mrs. Browning Prometh. Bound Poems 1850 I. 165 This wandering, everlonger, evermore Hath overworn me.

β 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 110 Er þe lenger þe more. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 58 Ȝer þe more þat þey þole, ai þe more schal þe fendis torment.

    † c. ever as (see as): with varying force = ‘as long as’, ‘as often as’, ‘whenever’, ‘wherever’, ‘always in proportion as’. Obs.

1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3974 Þe kynge..ȝef hom large ȝiftes, euere as hii worthe were. 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. xxxvi, And euer as he smote doune knyghtes, he made them to swere, etc. 1529 Rastell Pastyme (1811) 251 His armye..ever as they went, won dyvers strange holdes and tounes. 1530 Tindale Exp. 1 Cor. 308 And ever as he grew in promotions and dignity, so gathered he unto him of the most subtle-witted. 1571 Campion Hist. Irel. (1809) 71 He subdued the land through and through, ever as he went building up castles and fortresses. 1594 2nd Rep. Faustus in Thoms Prose Rom. (1828) 101 Ever as they came up to the breach, the cannon heaved them off. 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. vii. xxiv. (1668) 126 Ever as you knead it, sprinkle into it the grains of small Chilter wheat. 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 139 These..haue beene diuers times reformed, euer as they did degenerate from their primitiue sincerity.

    † 4. Prefixed to indefinite pronouns or advs. to impart to them a distributive sense; also, to distributive words in order to emphasize this function. ever all: all and sundry. ever either (outher): each of the two respectively. ever aywhere, ever where: everywhere. Obs. For ever each, ever ywhere, see their mod. forms every, everywhere.

a 1300 Cursor M. 13873 (Cott.) Iesus went him forth here and þar, And did meracles euer-ai-quar. c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 1084 Now we han ben her & tar, Þe pris y-wonne euer ay-war. 1382 Wyclif Prov. xxii. 2 The werkere of euer either is the Lord. ? a 1400 Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) 192 Prophescied..to ever all mankinde. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camd.) xxxi, For ȝe moue haue maysturs euyrqware. 1444 Close Roll 23 Hen. VI, And euerawther of the said Priour and Geffrey..was bownden in {pstlg}40. c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. ii. 8 But if [= unless] euereither of the premissis be trewe the conclusion is not trewe.

    ¶ Giving a distributive sense to numerals. (A mere Germanism.)

1535 Coverdale Judg. xv. 4 Samson..catched thre hundreth foxes..and put euer a fyre brande betwene two tayles [Luther, einen Brand je zwischen zwei Schwänze].

    5. quasi-n. use of 1. † a. In ME. phrase, long is ever (cf. ‘long is ay’). Obs.

c 1205 Lay. 18848 Longe beoð æuere dæd ne bið he næuere. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 103 Ful lang es ever, lang es ever.

    b. in phrases, for ever (sometimes, esp. in U.S., written forever, q.v.): for all future time, for eternity, in perpetuity; hence (chiefly in colloq. use), incessantly, interminably. In proper sense often in strengthened forms, † for all ever, for ever and (for) ever, for ever and ay (arch.), for ever and a day (? a corruption of prec.; also hyperbolically, (for) a very long time).

α a 1300 Cursor M. 6218 (Cott.) Þis folk..Þat suld vs serue for euer and ai. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 16 Tuo dukes & tuo bisshopes for euer toke þer leue. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. v. 124 Non go to galys, bote it be for euere. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 1011 We wylle..ben ȝowre servaundys for ever and hoo. 14.. Tundale's Vis. 1488 To that same peyn schuld y have goo And dwellyd ther in for ever and oo. 1549–62 Sternhold & H. Ps. lxxvii. 8 Is his goodnesse cleane decayd for euer and a day? 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. ii. 9 The Doctrine which is set forth in the name of God, serueth not for our age onely, but for all euer. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. ii. (1611) 5 One onely God to be blessed for euer. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. iv. 97 Farewell for euer and a day. 1600 A.Y.L. iv. i. 145. 1627 Donne Serm. clvii. VI. 276 New heavens and new earth for ever and ever and ever. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 719 For ever I am ravish'd from thy sight. 1712–4 Pope Rape Lock iii. 153 The meeting points the sacred hair dissever From the fair head, for ever, and for ever! 1771 Goldsm. Hist. Eng. III. 225 It was the fate of Charles, for ever to aim at projects which were..impracticable. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho. i, Madame St. Anbert knew not that she left it for ever. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1202 To him and his successors for ever. 1823 Carlyle Let. 28 Sept. (1886) II. 225 One youth was to go to Germany, the other to Oxford, and I to take my leave I supposed for ever and a day. 1878 Morley Carlyle Crit. Misc. Ser. i. 201 Hitherto certainly, and probably it will be so for ever. 1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) i. 13 It was only a little after three o'clock, but the party had been going on for ever. 1966 J. Aiken Trouble with Product X vii. 138 They [sc. traffic lights] always take for ever to change. 1967 Listener 18 May 656/3 How else can one explain why the Second Reform Bill of 1867 did not sweep the Conservatives from power for ever and a day?

β a 1592 Greene Alphonsus Wks. (1861) 241 Were banish'd both for e'er from Arragon.

    † 6. quasi-adj. uses of 1–3. Everlasting, constant, perpetual. Chiefly with agent-nouns or ns. of action. Obs.

1550 Veron Godly Sayings (1846) 129 But ever fire of hel (y⊇ punishment of the devils) do hang over us. 1580 Sidney Arcadia (1622) 481 But the time of my euer farewell approcheth. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. Ded., I take my leaue, desiring Almightie God..to be your Maiesties euer protector. Ibid. ii. (1628) 42 They haue beene the onely and euer possessors of their countrey. 1607 Rowlands Diog. Lanth. 29, I know thy euer care For winters want..In Sommer doth prepare. 1609 Epist. Shaks. Tr. & Cr. (Qq. 1, 2) 179 A neuer writer, to an euer reader.

    II. At any time (= L. unquam); whence: In any case, in any degree. Primarily in negative and interrogative sentences and in hypothetical and subordinate clauses.
    7. a. At any time.

α a 1000 Cædmon's Crist & Satan 171 Þat ic..ne sceal æfre ᵹeheran Þære byrhtestan beman stefne. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 15 Þe læs hiᵹ æfre [c 1160 Hatton afre] mid eaᵹum ᵹeseon. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 183 A weilewei þu fule hold, þat ich auere was to þe iteied. a 1225 Ancr. R. 230 Al þet vuel þet he euer dude Job, euer he nom leaue þerof ec et ure Louerde. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1178 Ich not ȝef thu were ȝavre prest. c 1300 Thrush & Night. 127 in Hazl. E.P.P. 55 Com thou heuere in here londe, Hy shulen don the in prisoun stronge. c 1340 Cursor M. 15116 (Trin.) Þei bicoom soriere þen euer eer þei were. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 198 That Scottis men mycht do na thing That euir mycht pless to thar liking. 1382 Wiclif John i. 18 No man euere syȝ God, no but the oon bigetun sone. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 3 b, More..pleasaunt to beholde than euer it was..before. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 165 b, Hortensus..was the first that ever killed Peacocke for the Table in Rome. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. v. 28 If euer..You meet in some fresh cheeke the power of fancie. 1612 Shelton Quix. iii. viii. I. 187 Whence I have no hope ever to return. 1660 Pepys Diary (1875) 156 The first time that ever I remember to have heard the..singing-men in surplices in my life. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. iii. ii. §17 We deny that ever his Atoms with all their occursions would ever produce those things which are in the Universe. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 37 ¶1 One of the prettiest Grotesque Works that ever I saw. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xi, For who could ever gaze on Mr. Pickwick's beaming face without [etc.]. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. III. xcix. 387 The criticisms of an outspoken press rarely assail their [English Judges'] ability, hardly ever their fairness.

β c 1205 Lay. 14320 He wes þe bezste latimer þat ær com her. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 99 It is scham to hem to say þus, þat ere kirk erriþ, sin He & His kirk is o persone. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. ii. 141 It hath bin the longest night That ere I watch'd, and the most heauiest. 1692 tr. Sallust 28 For who..would ere endure, that they should wallow in wealth...while we are pinch'd?

    ¶ b. seldom or ever: confusedly used for ‘seldom if ever’, ‘seldom or never’.

1771 Contempl. Man I. 83 All those people who were afflicted with any Illness, seldom or ever survived it. 1804 Syd. Smith Mor. Philos. v. (1850) 75 Dreamers..who walk in their sleep have seldom or ever the most distant recollections that they have been dreaming at all. 1809 ― Two Vols. Serm. I. 76 This plea is rarely or ever true.

    c. Sometimes used pleonastically as in seldom ever.

1813 J. C. Hobhouse Journey 78 The peasants seldom ever can get a farthing for their beasts. 1828 Carlyle in Foreign Rev. II. 460 And seldom ever can he succeed. 1857 Bagehot Lit. Studies (1879) II. 275 The words of a great poet, in our complex modern time, are rarely ever free from its traces.

    d. In the (orig. intensive) colloq. phrase as ever is or was.

1708 Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. X. 78 Bad riding as ever was. 1842 Knickerbocker XX. 96, I am seventy-two as ever was this very spring. 1850 Dickens Dav. Copp. xxi. 216 She has been as good a girl as ever was. 1890 S. Hale Lett. (1919) 248 Louis Church..a dear as ever was, aged twenty-one. 1919 F. M. Ford Let. 2 Sept. (1965) 98 If..you wd. care to adventure either next Week End as ever is or next but one, a train leaves Victoria at 3:40 p.m.

    e. Colloq. phr. did you ever? = did you ever see or hear the like?, would you believe it? Similarly did anybody ever?, if ever!, was there ever?, who'd ever? (Cf. well I never.)

1817 Byron Beppo xcii, Did I ever? No, I never Saw a man grown so yellow! 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. 150 ‘My stars!—well, if ever!’—wiping her fat hands very carefully. 1828 T. Creevey Let. 6 Dec. in Gore Creevey's Life & Times (1934) xiii. 294 Lady Louisa..believed Papa would not have come..if I had not been coming. Was there ever? 1840 Spirit of Times 21 Nov. 447/3 What a fib! did you ever? well, I never did hear the beat of that. 1844 G. E. Jewsbury Let. 24 June (1892) 136 He..found that the surgery-boy had..given calomel instead of ipecacuanha! Did you ever? 1854 J. E. Cooke Virginia Comedians I. xiv. 77 ‘Did anybody ever!’ said Miss Alethea. 1861 Reade Cloister & H. xliv, So then, if they take us to task we can say, alack we knew nought; we thought no ill; now, who'd ever? and so forth. 1892 Peel City Guardian 23 Jan. 3/3 ‘And where is she now?’ ‘In a studio.’..‘Did you ever!’ said Mrs. Fanshaw. 1909 Masefield Tragedy of Nan iii. 61 Fifty pou-und. Fifty pou-und. Did you ever.

    f. Qualifying a superlative (usu. an adjective) = ever known, experienced, etc.; ‘on record’. orig. U.S.

1906 ‘O. Henry’ Four Million (1916) 71 Anna and Maggie worked side by side in the factory, and were the greatest chums ever. 1924 Westm. Gaz. 12 Aug., Mr. Coolidge is expected to reach the largest audience ever in his acceptance address as Republican candidate. 1955 Times 12 May 4/3 The last amateur side from the States..had proved in 1951 the first-ever to beat the A.B.A. in one of their own rings. 1958 Listener 17 July 94/3 Cambodia's first-ever seaport. 1960 Sunday Express 11 Sept. 1/4 Mr. Matthews had not expected to be able to see his son become the youngest-ever champion. 1969 Guardian 6 Sept. 9/1 The biggest ever postbag of telegrams.

    g. Colloq. phr. if ever there (or if there ever) was (one): an assertion that the person or thing referred to is a perfect or undoubted example of its kind.

1822 Carlyle Let. 12 Jan. (1886) II. 30 In composition with ‘fence’ to be sure, and not governing ‘shrubs’, but still a preposition if there ever was one. 1872 Hardy Under Greenw. Tree I. ii. v. 189 Geoffrey Day is a clever man if ever there was one. 1912 T. Dreiser Financier xix. 213 A great young man, if there ever was one. 1929 G. Goodwin Conversations with G. Moore xxvi. 161 Richard Wormald was..a large-hearted millionaire if ever there was one. 1969 Guardian 21 May 10/4 The Playboy Club—an example of how ‘architecture can help to solve the social, visual, technical, and economic problems of the twentieth century’ if ever there was one.

    8. On any supposition, by any chance, at all. a. † ever any: any at all (obs.). Also ever a(n, e'er a(n (now vulgar, though never a(n is in good colloquial use: see the corrupt form arrow).

α a 1067 Charter of Eadweard in Cod. Dipl. IV. 219 Ic nelle ðat efre ani bisscop ani þing him ðer on a ateo. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 43 Heo wes wurse to þolien þenne efreni of alle þa oðre pine. c 1205 Lay. 15525 Ȝif mon funde in auer æi londe. æuer æi cniht bærn. 1583 Rich Phylotus & Emelia (1835) 31 If there bee euer a Deuill of them bothe, I knowe it is she. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus ii. 14 Here is policie, but pietie scarce euer a whit. 1769 Fair Annie in Herd Sc. Songs, Had ye ever a brother. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk. s.v., ‘Drink or cider’..‘ever-a-one’, ‘I dunna car w'ich’. 1884 Chesh. Gloss. s.v., Have you ever a shilling as you could lend me?

β 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 295, I loue thee better, then I loue ere a scuruie young Boy of them all. 1611 ― Wint. T. iv. iv. 180. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iv. i, The should haue beene perboyl'd..e're they should ha' come in, e're a one of 'hem. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxxviii. 151 If there were ere a one amongst you that could find out any device or stratagem of war. 1657 Earl of Monmouth tr. Paruta's Pol. Disc. 200 Nor..have [they] made me ere a whit more happy then I was at first. 1706 Watts Horæ Lyr. i. ‘Happy the hours’, Angels, assist my doleful song, If you have e'er a mourning string. 1746 W. Horsley Fool (1748) I. No. 33. 232 A Man of my Turn enjoys a Holiday with as high a Relish as e'er a Prentice-Boy..within the Bills of Mortality. 1802 Bentham Wks. (1843) X. 387, I don't know whether you have e'er an one.

    b. In comparative clauses introduced by as, than; also in relative clauses introduced by that preceded by a superlative or by all, the only, etc.

α 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. 746 All that ever the kyng..coude do coude never tourne them fro that opinyon. c 1530 ― Arth. Lyt. Bryt 468 Rode forthe as fast as ever they myght. a 1533 ― Huon l. 169 As naked as ever he was borne. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 89 [They] runne..from towne to towne..till they haue spent al that euer they haue. 1681 Dryden Sp. Friar (J.), As like him as ever he can look. 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 9 Piles..driven in as close together as ever they can stick. 1777 Johnson Let. 18 Feb. in Boswell, She will accommodate you as well as ever she can in the old room. 1835 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 43 Try all that ever you can to be patient. 1859 G. W. Dasent Pop. Tales Norse 19 All she wanted was to get above ground as fast as ever she could. 1885 F. Anstey Tinted Venus 25 Can't you see I'm as anxious to get that statue again as ever you can be?

β 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. iii. 72 As lowd as e're thou canst, cry.

    c. Added for emphasis to the conjunctions as soon as, before, ere, or (= ere). Also † when ever = ‘just as soon as’.

1325–1883 [see ere C. 1 d.]. 1632 Lithgow Trav. i. 38 Most part of all which M. Arthur and I saw, before euer we either eate, drunke, or tooke our lodging in Venice. 1655 Francion viii. 7 He gave me a good supper last night, when ever I came within his doors. a 1656 Bp. Hall Occas. Medit. §15 (1851) 20 So soon as ever he hears the noise of a fly afar off, how he hastens to his door! 1718 Hicks J. Kettlewell i. xxiii. 46 So soon as ever he commenced Master. 1844 Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile Poems I. 48 Or ever she [the Earth] knew sin! 1872 G. W. Dasent Three to One II. 256, I know what is to happen, before ever I get up-stairs.

    d. Following interrogative pronouns, advs., etc. (how, who, what, where, why), to intimate that the speaker has no notion what the answer will be.
    Sometimes these combinations are (improperly) written as single words: see however, whoever, etc.

1595 World of Wonders (1607) 240, I shal desire him to consider how ever it was possible to get from these priests..a pertinent answer. 1859 G. W. Dasent Pop. Tales Norse 12 Where ever in the world have you been? Ibid. 163 The Troll began to wonder..how ever they could be rid of the lad. Ibid. 215, I wonder now what ever there can be inside this chest.

    e. Appended to relative pronouns or advbs., and giving to them a generalized or indefinite force; = L. -cumque. These combinations are now always written as single words: see howsoever, whosoever, etc.
    f. Used as a colloquial intensive, usu. to emphasize an exclamation. (Cf. sense 8 d.) Chiefly N. Amer.

1934 F. Pickersgill Let. 29 May (1948) ii. 9 Was I ever glad to get off the beastly boat! 1945 S. Lewis Cass Timberlane (1946) vii. 46, I thought they were all so nice, and oh boy! are they ever learned! Ibid. xvi. 91 You're damn tootin’... Are we ever! Oh boy, I'll say we are! 1949 Canadian Forum Aug. 113/2 Do you remember it George?..Do I ever!

    9. In any degree. a. Prefixed to the followed by a comparative; = ‘at all’, ‘any’. Now only colloq. (Cf. never, which in the parallel use is much more common).

α 1622 Sparrow Bk. Com. Prayer (1661) 172 The Primitive Christians did not like the Jewish Rites ever the worse because they were Theirs. a 1656 Bp. Hall (J.), Let no man fear that harmful creature ever the less, because he sees the apostle safe from that poison. 1697 Collier Ess. (1703) I. 9 A Mine undiscovered, for which neither the Owner of the Ground or any Body else, are ever the Richer.

β 1642 Rogers Naaman 364 For none are ere the wiser for them. a 1679 Hobbes Absurd Geom. Wks. 1845 VII. 386 Do you think..the opinion of your judgment would have been ere the less?

    b. ever so: prefixed in hypothetical sentences to adjs. or advbs., with the sense ‘in any conceivable degree’. Sometimes ellipt. = ‘ever so much’; also dial. in phrases like were it ever so, = ‘however great the need might be’. Similarly, ever such (a).
    This expression has been substituted, from a notion of logical propriety, for never so, which in literary use appears to be much older, and still occurs arch., though app. not now known in dialects. See never.

1690–2 Locke Educ. in T. Fowler Locke (1880) 6 Not to take an answer, though ever so full and satisfactory. 1741 Richardson Pamela II. 273 Let me..not be call'd down for ever so much. 1751 Beau-Philosopher 193 Was it to be attended with ever such difficult Circumstances, there is nothing that a great mind will not undertake. 1764 Reid Inquiry vi. §3 His eyes, though ever so perfect. 1777 Sheridan Sch. Scand. ii. ii, Though Sir Peter's ill humour may vex me ever so, it never shall provoke me to, etc. 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1828) II. xix. 142 If ever so many queens are introduced into a hive. 1843 Thackeray Jerôme Paturot 349 If..the caricaturist had made fun of me ever so, I would..have put up with the insult. a 1850 Rossetti Dante & Circ. i. (1874) 173 Though of great heart and worthy everso, He shall be counted low. 1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants Words 215 ‘I wouldn't do it if it were ever so,’ i.e. nothing should induce me to do it. 1858 C. M. Yonge Christmas Mummers viii. 115, I couldn't lead the worship if it was ever so! 1882 W. Worc. Gloss. s.v., ‘I wunt ax 'im for bread, not if it was ever so’.

    c. Hence ever so is used in affirmative contexts as a vague intensive: ‘vastly’, ‘immensely’.

1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1872) I. 13 Ever so little to their credit. 1870 Mrs. Whitney We Girls i, Ever so many years ago. 1877 N.W. Lincolnsh. Gloss. s.v., She fret ever so when Harry 'listed. 1885 F. Anstey Tinted Venus 79 Thank you ever so much, Leander dear!

    III. Combinations.
    10. a. When ever (in senses 1–3) qualifies an adj. or ppl. adj. used attributively, it is almost invariably hyphened, thus giving rise to an unlimited number of quasi-compounds, as ever-abiding, ever-angry, ever-blooming, ever-changeful, ever-dear, ever-esteemed, etc.

1570 T. Norton tr. Nowel's Catech. (1853) 152 The only holy and ever-increasing noble fountain. 1580 Sidney Arcadia (1622) 136 The euer-noble nature of Leonatus. 1586 T. B. La Primaud Fr. Acad. (1589) i. 47 Philosophie..is..to lead us to the eternall fruition of our supreme and ever-abiding good. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 268 My euer esteemed dutie prickes me on. 1590 T. Watson Poems (1870) 159 Yee seaunfold flames, whose euer-circling fires maintain this earth. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 39 Cynthia still doth steepe In silver deaw his ever-drouping hed. 1599 T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 46 The Vulture gnawing stil That euer-dying euer-liuing wretch. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 463 Witnesse you euer burning Lights aboue. 1610 ― Temp. i. ii. 289 Thy grones Did..penetrate the breasts Of euer⁓angry Beares. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. i. Notes 2 O euer⁓happie Iles..By Nature strongly fenc'd. c 1630 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. 32 Ethereal princes, ever-conquering bands. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. i. vi, God..brought forth..that beneficent and ever-distributing office of deacons. 1648 Hamilton Papers (1880) 174 My ever honored Lord. a 1650 Crashaw (J.), Panting murmurs, still'd out of her breast That ever-bubbling spring. 1659 (title) Golden Remains of the Ever Memorable John Hales. 1682 Dryden Medal 24 Oh, could the style that copied every grace..have formed his ever-changing will. 1685 ― Misc. ii. 72 To treat thy evercraving Mind With ev'ry Blessing. a 1687 Waller Wks. (1729) 183 (Jod.) What our earth, and what our heav'n denies, Our everconstant friend, the sea supplies. 1703 Rowe Fair Penit. ii. i, Oh! hear me, hear your ever faithful creature! a 1711 Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 74 Their drink from ever-dropping Trees is rain'd. 1712–4 Pope Rape Lock ii. 66 The skies, Where light disports in ever-mingling dyes. 1715 ― Iliad ii. (1019) The fierce Pelasgi..March from Larissa's ever-fertile Ground. 1741 Richardson Pamela (1824) I. 227 My ever-dear and ever-honoured father and mother. 1742 F. Blyth Sermons II. 281 The immense Sea of God's ever-flowing Mercy. 1744 Armstrong Preserv. Health iii. 427 (Jod.) Th' ever-varying circle of the day. 1744 Thomson Autumn 812 The melting snows, and ever-dripping fogs. 1786 Burns Ded. to G. Hamilton, O'er the harp pale Mis'ry moans, And strikes the ever-deep'ning tones. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian i, The City and Bay of Naples, an ever-moving picture. 1808 H. More Cælebs I. 401 (Jod.) Its versatile temper, and its evernew resources. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. i. l, The ball-piled pyramid, the ever-blazing match, Portend the deeds to come. 1822 Carlyle Let. 2 June (1886) 218 The minute and ever-present knowledge of his duties in every emergency. 1827 Keble Chr. Y. Quinquagesima i, Brightening in ever-changeful bloom. 1846 W. Hamilton in Wks. of T. Reid 798/2 No answer could be afforded to the ever-recurring questions. 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. II. iii. xxiv. §5.215 The ever growing attributions of the government. 1852 Tennyson Ode Wellington 79 Ever-echoing avenues of song. 1855 A. L. Phillipps Mahometanism vi. 249 Anarchical and revolutionary outbreaks, that..have, with ever-increasing force, shaken..the civilized world. 1866 Kingsley Herew. II. xxii. 372 A life literally new, ever-renewing, ever-expanding and eternal. 1866 J. H. Newman Gerontius ii. 14 Fainter and more faint the accents come, As at an ever-widening interval. 1868 Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) III. 75 My ever-recurrent uncomfortable sensations. 1901 W. James Let. 17 May (1920) II. 146 Plane rising behind plane of flat dark relieved against flat light in ever-receding gradation. 1909 E. Pound Exultations 39 This ever-flowing monotony. 1933 Mind XLII. 146 Immortality is of no value unless it is a ground for the experience of eternal life: ‘the continuous enjoyment of an ever-present good’. 1937 R. H. Lowie Hist. Ethnol. Theory viii. 109 An ever-recurring principle. 1939 M. Spring Rice Working-class Wives iii. 50 Years of ever-increasing toil. 1957 P. Worsley Trumpet shall Sound ii. 39 These new wants attracted an ever-growing army of recruits. 1969 Jane's Freight Containers 1968–69 188/3 To speed the clearance and handling of the ever-increasing number of containers.

    b. Occasionally prefixed to a passive inf. (preceded by to), forming an attrib. adj. Cf. never adv. 6 c.

1778 F. Burney Evelina III. ii. 22 He wrote the ever-to-be-regretted letter. Ibid. xvii. 200 My ever-to-be-regretted mother. 1815 M. Pilkington Celebrity II. 91 This dear and ever-to-be-lamented parent. 1815 Wordsworth Poems I. 366 If Names are more acceptable than images, where is the ever-to-be-honoured Chaucer?

    c. Prefixed to ns. denoting action or state. rare.

1665 J. Serjeant Sure-footing in Chr. 76 The Proper Cause must be an ever-delivery. Ibid. 106 The ever-continuance or uninterruptedness of Tradition.

    11. Special Combinations: ever-bearer, a plant which bears flowers and fruits (sometimes simultaneously) for a long time; hence ever-bearing adj.; ever-being a., that always is; hence † everbeingness; † everbleving vbl. n. [f. bleve, beleave v.], everlastingness; ever-bloomer = ever-bearer (orig. applied to a rose); hence ever-blooming adj.; everbrown n., a plant always brown (humorously after evergreen); † ever-crescent a., ? growing in whatever place; † ever-durable a., destined to last for ever; † ever-glooming a., involved in perpetual gloom; † ever-grow (see quot.); ever-loving a., that loves for ever; usu. as a stock colloq. epithet for a wife; hence as n., one's wife; ever-ready a., always accessible or prepared; hence as n., a person or thing that is always ready; spec. (usu. with capital initials) a member of a territorial army or similar force that is liable to be mobilized at any time. See also the main-words ever-blessed, -during, etc.

1929 Weaver & Clements Plant Ecology xiii. 326 While..most plants have a comparatively short period of flowering and fruiting each year..reproductive activity in some continues through several months. The latter are known as ever-bloomers or *ever-bearers.

1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 13 Oct. 15/1 Evergreen blackberries and *everbearing strawberries are coming in but in small quantities.

1655 Gouge Comm. Heb. i. 8 The greek word here translated ever, αἰῶνα, according to the notation signifieth *ever-being (ἀεὶ ὤν). 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 24 Gods whole eternity rightly taken..is..one only everbeing now. 1839 Bailey Festus xx. (1848) 233 A bride of God, And handmaid of the Everbeing One.

1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 13 Such words to set forth Gods *ever-beingness by, as may be sure to shut out formerness and afterness.

1340 Ayenb. 105 Þet uerste word [Pater] ous sseweþ þe langnesse of his *eurebleuinge.

1887 N.Y. Semi-Weekly Tribune 3 May (Cent. Dict.), We have grown over sixty named *ever-bloomers or tea-roses.

1929 Weaver & Clements Plant Ecology xiii. 326, Several species of plant..show a tendency to exhibit the ‘*ever-blooming’ or ‘ever-bearing’ habit, i.e. the ability to continue both vegetative and reproductive activities more or less successfully together.

1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. ii, The scanty box, and stunted *everbrowns, and broken flower-pots..are scattered mournfully about.

1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. 172 The Organs of the Practique Intellect are to rectifie and regulate the excrescent, supercrescent, and *ever-crescent parts.

1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 386 A third Angel..denounces most direfull and *ever-durable torments to those that worship the Beast and his Image.

1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. i. in Hazl. Dodsley V. 9 Through dreadful shades of *ever-glooming night.

1676 Grew Anat. Plants iv. i. v. §1 And an *Evergrow, is a degree above an Evergreen: here, the Buds and young Sprigs, do only live; there, they grow and are put forth.

1931 D. Runyon Guys & Dolls (1932) i. 26 Maud Milligan, who is well known to one and all as the *ever-loving doll of Big Nip. 1938 ― Furthermore v. 87 His ever-loving wife is passing a tambourine around. 1968 ‘P. Barrington’ Accessory to Murder ii. 34 The old fool was devoted to his ever-loving. I reckon she was damn lucky.

1828 Mill in Westm. Rev. IX. 257 A summary appeal to that *ever-ready standard of comparison, English practice. 1842 Manning Serm. (1848) I. xxiv. 354 They..declined also the ever-ready spirit of a Christian life. 1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings iii. 60 That vindictive exponent of frightfulness, Archibald the Ever-Ready [i.e. an anti-aircraft gun]. 1936 C. Day Lewis Friendly Tree 15 An ever-ready, over-sweet smile. 1962 Times 21 Mar. 7/4 This [sc. the revival of National Service] is undesirable for a number of reasons. The purpose of the Ever-Readies is to avoid such a measure. 1966 Guardian 19 Aug. 1/8 The searchers..included 190 ‘ever-readies’ of the Metropolitan Police's Special Group.

Oxford English Dictionary