English
ever
Ever comes from Middle English ever, and goes back to Old English ǣfre.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣfre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ever
- Englishearliest quotation 1592same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ǣfre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ever
- Englishearliest quotation 1592same form
Earliest quotation: 1592, George Savile: “[…] the Lord Treasurer, who ever secretly feigned himself…”
The story
Sense 5 of the adverb was likely formed by association with never, which also carries the meaning of did not in colloquial Singaporean and Malaysian English. Also, compare Chinese 有 … 過 /有 … 过 (yǒu ... guò / jau⁵ ... gwo³, “has […] before”).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *perkʷ- ‘oak’
firm, forest, farmer, fir, firth, frith
through Proto-Germanic *ferhwą ‘tree’
Today it means
adv Always, frequently, forever.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English ǣfre / ever