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Origin and history of ever

ever(adv.)

Old English æfre "ever, at any time, always;" of uncertain origin, no cognates in any other Germanic language; perhaps a contraction of a in feore, literally "ever in life" (the expression a to fore is common in Old English writings). First element is almost certainly related to Old English a "always, ever," from Proto-Germanic *aiwi-, extended form of PIE root *aiw- "vital force, life; long life, eternity." Liberman suggests second element is comparative adjectival suffix -re.

Sometimes contracted to e'er in dialect and poetry. Ever began to be used in late Old English as a way to generalize or intensify when, what, where, etc. The sense evolution was from "at any time at all, in any way" to "at any particular time; at some time or another; under any circumstances." Ever so "to whatever extent" is recorded by 1680s. Expression did you ever? (implying "see/do/hear of such a thing") attested by 1840.

Entries linking to ever

e'er

variant spelling of ever, now archaic or poetic.

Everglades(n.)

1826, from everglade (1823), from ever, apparently in sense of "endless" + glade. Charles Vignoles's "Observations upon the Floridas" (1823) has Eternal Glades and Ever Glade morass.

The distance from the mouth of Hilsborough river to the head of the lake, in a direct line, is about 110 statute miles. The country between them is mostly, if not wholly, an everglade, by which is meant a low marsh frequently covered with water, and in which there grows a sharp triangular grass, from ten to twelve feet high, and impervious to men or animals. [American Mechanics' Magazine, Jan. 21, 1826]
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Trends of ever

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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every
"each, considered indefinitely as a unitary part of an aggregate; all, of a collective or aggregate number, taken one by one;" early 13c., contraction of Old English æfre ælc "each of a group," literally "ever each" (Chaucer's everich), from each with ever added before it for emp
howsoever
late 14c., how so evere "no matter how, however," an emphatic form of how-so "in what(ever) way" (late Old English hu se), from how (adv.) + so (adv.); + ever. A parallel and earlier form in Middle English was howsomever (early 14c.), which survived through 18c. in provincial Eng
never
Middle English never, from Old English næfre "not ever, at no time," a compound of ne "not, no" (from PIE root *ne- "not") + æfre "ever" (see ever). Early used as an emphatic form of not (as still in never mind). Old English, unlike its modern descendant, had the useful custom of
aught
something, anything," late 12c., from Old English awiht "aught, anything, something," literally "e'er a whit," from a- "ever..." (from Proto-Germanic *aiwi- "ever," extended form of PIE root *aiw- "vital force, life; long life, eternity") + *wihti...
ubiquity
from Modern Latin ubiquitas, from Latin ubique "everywhere," from ubi "where" (see ubi) + -que "and," also "any, also, ever...," as a suffix giving universal meaning to the word it is attached to, from PIE root *kwe "and, -ever" (source also of Hittite...
each
"any, all, every, each (one)," short for a-gelic "ever alike," from a "ever" (see aye (adv.)) + gelic "alike" (see like (...
ladies
Every succeeding occasion is usually said to be "the best ever," but for true pleasure, comfort and genuine enjoyment it...is doubtful if any occasion has been more truly "the best ever" than the ladies' night of the Paint, Oil and Varnish Club...
ere
c. 1200, from Old English ær (adv., conj., & prep.) "soon, before (in time)," from Proto-Germanic *airiz, comparative of *air "early" (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old High German er, Dutch eer; German eher "earlier;" Old Norse ar "early;" Gothic air "early," airis
always
mid-14c., contraction of Old English phrase ealne weg "all the time; quite, perpetually," literally "all the way," with accusative of space or distance, though the oldest recorded usages refer to time; see all + way (n.). The adverbial genitive -s appeared early 13c., was rare be
nerve
late 14c., nerve, nerf, "sinew, tendon, hard cord of the body" (a sense now obsolete), also "fiber or bundle of fibers that convey the capacity to feel or move from the brain or spinal cord to the body," from Old French nerf and directly from Medieval Latin nervus "a nerve," from

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