"E" Word Origins

evenglome

Origin

Learned borrowing from Old English ǣfenglōm, as the term began being used soon after the publication of Early England and the Saxon-English in 1869, where the word is first listed in this form. By surface analysis, even + glome (“gloom”).

evenhanded

Origin

From even + handed. First attested in c. 1600.

evening

Old English

From Old English ǣfnung, "becoming evening," derived from ǣfen ("eve").

evenings

Origin

From "evening" plus the old adverbial -s ending, the same pattern seen in words like "always" and "nowadays."

evenly

Old English

From Old English efenlīċe, built from even + -ly.

evenness

Origin

From Middle English evennesse, from Old English efennes, equivalent to even + -ness.

Evens

Origin

Variant of Evans.

evensong

Origin

From Old English ǣfensang, equivalent to even + song. The use of even to mean evening is now obsolete except in poetry.

event

Latin

From Latin ēventus, "an occurrence," from ēveniō, "to happen" — related to venture and invent.

eventful

Origin

Built from event + -ful.

eventide

Old English

From Old English æfentid, from æfen 'evening' and tid 'time'.

eventless

Origin

From event + -less.

eventual

Origin

From event + -ual.

eventuality

French

A calque of French éventualité, from eventual + -ity.

eventually

Origin

From eventual + -ly.

eventuate

Origin

American English, from Latin ēventu(s) (“an event, happening”) + -ate (verb-forming suffix), perhaps modeled after actuate.

ever

Old English

From Old English ǣfre, probably built from ā ("always") plus an element related to feorh ("life").

everard

Origin

From Old English Eofurheard, Eoferard, from Proto-West Germanic *Eburahardu, from *ebur (“wild boar”) + *hardu (“hard, brave”). Reinforced by cognate names from Anglo-Norman and Middle Dutch.

everchanging

Origin

From ever + changing.

Everest

French

Mountain named after Sir George Everest. The surname may be from Norman French Devereux, meaning from Évreux.

Everett

Dutch

From Dutch Everaert or Everardt (late 16th C.), from Middle Dutch Everarde. Doublet of Everard.

everglade

Origin

Compound of ever + glade.

evergreen

Origin

From ever + green — a plant that stays green through every season.

everlasting

Middle English

From Middle English ever-lasting, literally "always continuing" — from ever + lasting.

everlastingness

Origin

From everlasting + -ness.

evermore

Middle English

From Middle English evermore, from ever + more.

Evers

Dutch

Borrowed from Dutch Evers.

everse

Origin

From Latin ēversus, past participle of ēvertere (“to turn out, overthrow”); ē- (“out”) + vertere (“to turn”). Compare evert.

evert

Latin

From Latin ēvertere, "to overturn or turn inside out," from ē- ("out") + vertere ("to turn").

Everton

Old English

From Old English eofor (“wild boar”) + tūn (“settlement”).

everybody

Origin

From every + body.

everyday

Middle English

From Middle English everidayes, "every day's," from every + day.

everydayness

Origin

From everyday + -ness. Compare the similarly-formed German Alltäglichkeit (alltäglich + -keit).

everyman

Origin · 1520

Possibly traced back to the medieval morality play Everyman (English translation around 1520), whose main character represents all of humanity.

everyone

Middle English

From Middle English everichon, an alteration influenced by "every."

everypony

Origin

A pun on every + pony, modeled on "everybody," popularized by the My Little Pony fandom.

everything

Middle English

From Middle English every thing, later fused into one word.

everywhere

Middle English

From Middle English, from ever + where.

evict

Latin

From Latin ēvictus, past participle of ēvincere, "to vanquish completely" — a doublet of "evince."

eviction

Late Latin

From Middle French éviction, from Late Latin ēvictiō, related to the verb "evict."

evidence

Latin

From Old French evidence, from Latin evidentia ("clearness, proof"), related to evidens, "evident."

evident

Latin

From Latin ēvidēns, "clear, apparent," from ē- ("out") + vidēre ("to see").

evidential

Origin

From Medieval Latin ēvidentiālis, from Latin ēvidentia + -ālis.

evidentiary

Origin

From evidence + -ary.

evidently

Origin

From evident + -ly.

Evie

Origin

Diminutives + -ie.

evil

Old English

From Old English yfel, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch euvel and German übel, all meaning "bad" or "evil."

evildoer

Origin

From Middle English yvel doer; equivalent to evil + doer.