evergreen

Etymology

It is formed from English ever + green.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The OED compares the earlier noun sengreen, the houseleek, from Old English singrēne of the same sense, and the later German immergrün (17th century).^[2] In early modern English ever often modified green as a phrase, as in the “Grete Herball” of 1526, where a plant is said to be “euer grene”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a tree or shrub, having green leaves all year round: 1593, in Gabriel Harvey's Pierces Supererogation.^[2] The sources disagree on the date: Dictionary.com gives 1545–55, Merriam-Webster 1574 for the adjective and 1644 for the noun,^[6][4] and Etymonline the 1640s for the noun and the 1660s for the adjective.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word first described trees and shrubs, contrasted with deciduous ones, then their leaves (1629) and any always-green landscape (1622).^[2] It was soon used figuratively for what is always fresh and never fails (1655),^[2] although Etymonline dates the figurative sense only to 1871.^[3] The noun, an evergreen tree or shrub, followed in 1658,^[2] while since 1712 an evergreen could be a person or thing of lasting freshness or popularity.^[2] Johnson (1755) defined the adjective as "verdant throughout the year" and quoted Milton's "laurel, evergreen, and branching palm",^[7] a line the OED prints as Laurel ever green.^[2] In American slang of the early 20th century evergreen meant money, from its colour.^[8]

Timeline

• 1526 – the phrase “euer grene”, of a plant.^[2]
• 1574 – adjective, in Merriam-Webster's dating.^[4]
• 1593 – of a tree or shrub, keeping green leaves all year.^[2]
• 1622 – always green, of a landscape.^[2]
• 1629 – of a leaf; in names of plants such as evergreen oak.^[2]
• 1640s – noun, of trees and shrubs, in Etymonline (1644 in Merriam-Webster).^[3][4]
• 1655 – figurative, always fresh, enduring.^[2]
• 1658 – noun, an evergreen tree or shrub.^[2]
• 1712 – noun, a person or thing of lasting popularity.^[2]
• 1755 – Johnson: verdant throughout the year.^[7]
• 1908 – American slang, money.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of trees and shrubs, keeping green foliage all year round, as opposed to deciduous: Holly and pine are evergreen.^[9][4][2]
2. Always fresh, interesting or popular; perennial: an evergreen tune.^[9][4][2]

Noun

1. An evergreen tree or shrub, such as a pine or holly.^[9][4][2]
2. evergreens: branches of evergreen plants used for decoration.^[4]
3. A person or thing that stays fresh or popular over many years.^[2]

Word family

• semievergreen
• evergreen oak
• Chinese evergreen

Related words

• ever
• green
• sengreen

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins