whenever

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /wenˈev.ə/, US /wenˈev.ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English whanne-ever, when ever,^[2][3] a compound of when and ever.^[2][4][3] It is contracted in poetry to whene'er.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

“At any time when; every time that”: the mid-14th century in Etymonline,^[2] about 1380 in the OED.^[5] Middle English also had whan-so-ever “at whatsoever time”, by the late 14th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

“As soon as, at the very moment when” is from 1655, and is now only Scots and Irish English.^[5][4] As an emphatic interrogative, “when ever?”, properly written separately, it is from 1713 in the OED,^[5] and colloquial.^[4] As an adverb Merriam-Webster dates it to about 1576.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – at any time when.^[5]
• 1655 – as soon as.^[5]
• 1713 – in questions.^[5]

Modern meaning

Conjunction

1. At whatever time: come whenever you like.
2. Every time that: whenever it rains, the roof leaks.

Adverb

1. When; at what time, used for emphasis in questions: whenever did you find the time?

Related words

• however
• howsoever
• whatever
• whatsoever
• wherever
• wheresoever
• whoever
• whomever
• whomsoever
• whosoever
• when
• ever
• whensoever

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster