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Origin and history of e'er

e'er

variant spelling of ever, now archaic or poetic.

Entries linking to e'er

ever(adv.)

Old English æfre "ever, at any time, always;" of uncertain origin, no cognates in any other Germanic language; perhaps a contraction of a in feore, literally "ever in life" (the expression a to fore is common in Old English writings). First element is almost certainly related to Old English a "always, ever," from Proto-Germanic *aiwi-, extended form of PIE root *aiw- "vital force, life; long life, eternity." Liberman suggests second element is comparative adjectival suffix -re.

Sometimes contracted to e'er in dialect and poetry. Ever began to be used in late Old English as a way to generalize or intensify when, what, where, etc. The sense evolution was from "at any time at all, in any way" to "at any particular time; at some time or another; under any circumstances." Ever so "to whatever extent" is recorded by 1680s. Expression did you ever? (implying "see/do/hear of such a thing") attested by 1840.

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    always
    mid-14c., contraction of Old English phrase ealne weg "all the time; quite, perpetually," literally "all the way," with accusative of space or distance, though the oldest recorded usages refer to time; see all + way (n.). The adverbial genitive -s appeared early 13c., was rare be
    aught
    "something, anything," late 12c., from Old English awiht "aught, anything, something," literally "e'er a whit," from a- "...
    nerve
    late 14c., nerve, nerf, "sinew, tendon, hard cord of the body" (a sense now obsolete), also "fiber or bundle of fibers that convey the capacity to feel or move from the brain or spinal cord to the body," from Old French nerf and directly from Medieval Latin nervus "a nerve," from
    never
    Middle English never, from Old English næfre "not ever, at no time," a compound of ne "not, no" (from PIE root *ne- "not") + æfre "ever" (see ever). Early used as an emphatic form of not (as still in never mind). Old English, unlike its modern descendant, had the useful custom of
    veer
    1580s, "to change direction" (originally of the wind; 1610s of a ship), from French virer "to turn" (12c.), of uncertain origin, perhaps (Diez) from the Latin stem vir- in viriae (plural) "bracelets." Gamillscheg finds von Wartburg's derivation of it from a Vulgar Latin contracti
    rack
    c. 1300, "grating or open frame with bars or pegs upon which things are hung or placed," especially for kitchen use, possibly from Middle Dutch rec "framework," literally "something stretched out, related to recken (modern rekken) "stretch out," cognate with Old English reccan "t
    balance
    early 13c., "scales, apparatus for weighing by comparison of mass," from Old French balance "balance, scales for weighing" (12c.), also in figurative sense; from Medieval Latin bilancia, from Late Latin bilanx, from Latin (libra) bilanx "(scale) having two pans," possibly from La
    Atlas
    1580s, in Greek mythology a member of the older family of Gods, later regarded as a Titan, son of Iapetus and Clymene; in either case supposed to uphold the pillars of heaven (or earth), which according to one version was his punishment for being war-leader of the Titans in their
    oblivion
    late 14c., oblivioun, "state or fact of forgetting, forgetfulness, loss of memory," from Old French oblivion (13c.) and directly from Latin oblivionem (nominative oblivio) "forgetfulness; a being forgotten," from oblivisci (past participle oblitus) "forget," which is of uncertain
    conservative
    late 14c., conservatyf, "tending to preserve or protect, preservative, having the power to keep whole or safe," from Old French conservatif, from Medieval Latin conservativus, from Latin conservatus, past participle of conservare "to keep, preserve, keep intact, guard," from assi

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