whenever English · revision 4197

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1380}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|whanne-ever]], when ever,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) a compound of [[when]] and [[ever]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) It is contracted in poetry to whene'er.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “At any time when; every time that”: the mid-14th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) about 1380 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Middle English also had whan-so-ever “at whatsoever time”, by the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “As soon as, at the very moment when” is from 1655, and is now only Scots and Irish English.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) As an emphatic interrogative, “when ever?”, properly written separately, it is from 1713 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and colloquial.^(SOED 2002) As an adverb Merriam-Webster dates it to about 1576.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – at any time when.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1655 – as soon as.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1713 – in questions.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # At whatever time: ''come whenever you like''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Every time that: ''whenever it rains, the roof leaks''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # When; at what time, used for emphasis in questions: ''whenever did you find the time?''^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[however]]

+ * [[howsoever]]

+ * [[whatever]]

+ * [[whatsoever]]

+ * [[wherever]]

+ * [[wheresoever]]

+ * [[whoever]]

+ * [[whomever]]

+ * [[whomsoever]]

+ * [[whosoever]]

+ * [[when]]

+ * [[ever]]

+ * [[whensoever]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}