whatever English · revision 3467

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=14th century|origins=en what}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /wɒtˈev.ə/, US /wʌtˈev.ɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a Middle English compound of [[what]] and [[ever]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) an emphatic form of ''what''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) It is poetically contracted to whate'er.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an emphatic interrogative pronoun, “what in the world”, from the 14th century in the OED^(OED 1989) and the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Anything at all; no matter what”, as in ''whatever may come'', is from the late 14th century, as is the adjective “any sort of, every, no matter what”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The adjective “at all”, after a negative, as in ''no doubt whatever'', is from 1395 in the Historical Thesaurus's dating.^(HTOED) The adverb “whatever may be the case, at any event” is attested by 1870, in dialect and colloquial use;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Etymonline suggests it may be the source of the modern dismissive ''whatever'' of teenage slang, which Partridge dates to 1989, or that this comes from ''or whatever'' after a word.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – emphatic “what”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – anything at all; adjective.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1870 – adverb, at all events.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1989 – dismissive slang.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # Everything or anything that: ''take whatever you want''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # No matter what: ''whatever happens''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' Which thing or what, used for emphasis in questions: ''whatever did he mean?''^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(informal)'' Something similar: ''tea or coffee or whatever''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of any number or kind; any.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Of any kind at all: ''no money whatever''.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ===Interjection===

+ # ''(slang)'' Used to show indifference or dismissal.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[whatsoever]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[however]]

+ * [[howsoever]]

+ * [[whenever]]

+ * [[whensoever]]

+ * [[wheresoever]]

+ * [[wherever]]

+ * [[whichever]]

+ * [[whichsoever]]

+ * [[whoever]]

+ * [[whomever]]

+ * [[whomsoever]]

+ * [[whosoever]]

+ * [[what]]

+ * [[ever]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary notes that both ''whatever'' and ''what ever'' are used in questions such as ''Whatever made her say that?''; critics have sometimes objected to the one-word form, but it has extensive precedent in reputable writing, as do ''whoever'', ''whenever'', ''wherever'' and ''however''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}