GeezerVison is showing en.wiktionary.org — even - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Alternative forms
- eben (etymology 1: adverb, adjective)
- e'en (etymology 1: adverb, etymology 2: noun; contraction, poetic, archaic)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈiːvən/, [ˈɪi̯vən] ~ [ˈɪi̯vn̩]
- Rhymes: -iːvən
- Hyphenation: e‧ven
Etymology 1
From Middle English even, from Old English efn (“flat; level, even, equal”), from Proto-West Germanic *ebn, from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)em-no- (“equal, straight; flat, level, even”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian íeuwen (“even, flat”), West Frisian even (“even”), Alemannic German ëben (“even”), Cimbrian ébane (“even”), Dutch even (“even, equal, same”), effen (“leveled”), German eben (“even, flat, level”), Danish jævn (“even, flat, smooth”), Icelandic jafn (“even”), Norwegian Bokmål jevn (“even, smooth”), Norwegian Nynorsk jamn (“even, smooth”), Swedish jämn (“even, level, smooth”), Gothic 𐌹𐌱𐌽𐍃 (ibns, “even”), Old Cornish eun (“equal, right”) (attested in Vocabularium Cornicum eun-hinsic (“iustus, i. e., just”)), Old Breton eun (“equal, right”) (attested in Eutychius Glossary eunt (“aequus, i. e., equal”)), Middle Breton effn, Breton eeun, Sanskrit अम्नस् (amnás, “(adverb) just, just now; at once”).
The traditional proposal connecting the Germanic adjective with the root Proto-Indo-European *h₂eym- (Latin imāgō (“picture, image, likeness, copy”), Latin aemulus (“competitor, rival”), Sanskrit यम (yamá, “pair, twin”)) is problematic from a phonological point of view.[1]
For the meaning development compare with Latin aequus (“equal, level, even, flat, horizontal”), Russian ро́вный (róvnyj, “even, level, flat, smooth”), ра́вный (rávnyj, “equal”), по́ровну (pórovnu, “in equal parts”).
Adjective
even (comparative evener or more even, superlative evenest or most even)
- Flat and level.
Clear out those rocks. The surface must be even.
- Without great variation.
Despite her fear, she spoke in an even voice.
- Equal in proportion, quantity, size, etc.
The distribution of food must be even.
Call it even.
- (mathematics, not comparable) Of an integer, divisible by two.
Four, fourteen and forty are even numbers.
- (informal) Of a number, convenient for rounding other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero.
1989, Jerry Sterner, Other People's Money, act I:Coles. How many shares have you bought, Mr. Garfinkle? Garfinkle. One hundred and ninety-six thousand. […] Jorgenson. […] How'd you figure out to buy such an odd amount? Why not two hundred thousand — nice even number. Thought you liked nice even numbers.
1998, Marya Hornbacher, chapter 8, in Wasted[3], paperback edition, HarperPerennial, published 1999, →ISBN, page 253:He put me on the scale in my underwear and socks: 82 pounds. […] I left, humming all day long, remembering that once upon a time my ideal weight had been 84, and now I'd even beaten that. I decided 80 was a better number, a nice even number to be.
- On equal monetary terms; neither owing nor being owed.
- (colloquial) On equal terms of a moral sort; quits.
You biffed me back at the barn, and I biffed you here—so now we're even.
- Parallel; on a level; reaching the same limit.
- (obsolete) Without an irregularity, flaw, or blemish; pure.
1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:I know my life so even.
- (obsolete) Associate; fellow; of the same condition. (Can we verify(+) this sense?)
- c. 1382–1395, John Wycliffe, Bible - Matthew 18.29
- His even servant.
Usage notes
- Because of confusion with the "divisible by two" sense, use of even to mean "convenient for rounding" is rare; the synonym round is more common for this sense.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “flat and level”): uneven
- (antonym(s) of “divisible by two”): odd
Derived terms
Translations
flat and level
- Afrikaans: vlak (af)
- Albanian: shesh (sq), rrafsh (sq)
- Arabic: مُسَطَّح (musaṭṭaḥ), مُنبَسِط
- Armenian: հարթ (hy) (hartʻ), հավասար (hy) (havasar)
- Azerbaijani: düz (az)
- Bashkir: тигеҙ (tigeð)
- Belarusian: ро́ўны (równy)
- Bulgarian: ра́вен (bg) (ráven)
- Catalan: pla (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 平坦 (zh) (píngtǎn)
- Czech: rovný (cs) m
- Danish: jævn
- Dutch: vlak (nl), vlakke (nl), gelijk (nl), gelijke (nl)
- Esperanto: ebena
- Faroese: javnur
- Finnish: tasainen (fi)
- French: plat (fr)
- Friulian: plan, plac
- German: eben (de)
- Gothic: 𐌹𐌱𐌽𐍃 (ibns)
- Greek: επίπεδος (el) m (epípedos)
- Ancient Greek: ὁμαλής (homalḗs)
- Hindi: समतल (hi) (samtal)
- Hungarian: egyenletes (hu), sima (hu), sík (hu)
- Icelandic: jafn (is)
- Indonesian: rata (id)
- Irish: réidh
- Italian: piano (it)
- Japanese: 平 (ja) (たいら, taira)
- Korean: 고르다 (ko) (goreuda)
- Latin: plānus
- Macedonian: рамен (ramen), рамномерен (ramnomeren), мазен (mazen)
- Malay: rata (ms)
- Māori: papatairite, paparite
- Middle English: even
- Mongolian: тэгш (mn) (tegš)
- Occitan: plan (oc), planièr (oc), plat (oc)
- Polish: równy (pl), gładki (pl), płaski (pl)
- Portuguese: plano (pt), nivelado (pt)
- Romanian: plat (ro)
- Romansh: guliv, uliv, anguliv, planiv, plàn, guleiv, gualiv
- Russian: ро́вный (ru) (róvnyj), гла́дкий (ru) (gládkij), пло́ский (ru) (plóskij)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: раван
- Latin: ravan (sh)
- Slovak: rovný (sk)
- Southern Altai: тӱс (tüs)
- Spanish: parejo (es), llano (es)
- Swedish: jämn (sv), flat (sv), platt (sv), slät (sv), plan (sv)
- Telugu: చదునైన (te) (cadunaina)
- Turkish: düz (tr)
- Ottoman Turkish: دوز (düz), طوغری (doğrı), سوی (seviy)
- Ukrainian: рі́вний (rívnyj)
- Venetan: guałivo
- Vietnamese: bằng phẳng (vi), bằng (vi)
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- Afrikaans: gelyk
- Arabic: أَمْلَس (ʔamlas), سَوِيّ (sawiyy)
- Armenian: հավասար (hy) (havasar)
- Azerbaijani: bircür
- Bashkir: тигеҙ (tigeð)
- Bulgarian: равноме́рен (bg) (ravnoméren), еднообра́зен (bg) (ednoobrázen), моното́нен (bg) m (monotónen), постоя́нен (bg) m (postojánen)
- Czech: rovnoměrný, vyrovnaný (cs)
- Dutch: gelijke (nl), gelijkmatig (nl), gelijkmatige (nl)
- Finnish: tasainen (fi)
- French: monotone (fr) (voice), uniforme (fr)
- German: gleichmäßig (de)
- Greek: ομαλός (el) m (omalós), ομοιόμορφος (el) m (omoiómorfos)
- Hebrew: חלק (he) (khalak)
- Hungarian: egyenletes (hu)
- Ingrian: rovnoi
- Korean: 일정하다 (ko) (iljeonghada)
- Macedonian: рамномерен (ramnomeren)
- Māori: rōnaki
- Middle English: even
- Occitan: constant (oc)
- Polish: równomierny (pl), jednolity (pl), jednostajny (pl)
- Portuguese: uniforme (pt), constante (pt), padronizado (pt)
- Russian: ро́вный (ru) (róvnyj), равноме́рный (ru) (ravnomérnyj), однообра́зный (ru) (odnoobráznyj)
- Scottish Gaelic: cothromach, cunbhalach
- Swedish: stadig (sv) (voice), jämn (sv)
- Turkish: eşit dağılımlı
- Vietnamese: đều đặn (vi), đều đều
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equal
- Arabic: مُتَسَاوٍ (mutasāwin)
- Armenian: հավասար (hy) (havasar)
- Azerbaijani: eyni (az)
- Bashkir: тигеҙ (tigeð)
- Bulgarian: ра́вен (bg) (ráven)
- Catalan: igual (ca)
- Czech: rovný (cs)
- Dutch: gelijk (nl), gelijkmatig (nl)
- Esperanto: egala (eo)
- Finnish: tasainen (fi); tasasuhtainen; tasapuolinen (fi) (in proportion); tasaväkinen (fi) (in strength)
- French: régulier (fr), uniforme (fr)
- German: gleich (de)
- Greek: ίσος (el) m (ísos), όμοιος (el) m (ómoios)
- Hebrew: שווה (shavé)
- Hindi: समान (hi) (samān)
- Hungarian: egyenlő (hu), igazságos (hu), méltányos (hu)
- Japanese: 等しい (ja) (hitoshii), 同等 (ja) (dōtō), あいこ (ja) (aiko)
- Macedonian: рамен (ramen)
- Manchu: ᡨᡝᡴᠰᡳᠨ (teksin)
- Māori: tauriterite, taurite, ōrite
- Middle English: even
- Occitan: egal (oc), pariu (oc), parièr (oc)
- Polish: równy (pl)
- Portuguese: quite (pt)
- Romanian: egal (ro)
- Russian: ра́вный (ru) (rávnyj), одина́ковый (ru) (odinákovyj)
- Scottish Gaelic: cothromach
- Spanish: igual (es), parejo (es)
- Turkish: eşit (tr)
- Vietnamese: bằng nhau (vi)
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arithmetic: divisible by two
- Arabic: زَوْجِيّ (zawjiyy)
- Armenian: զույգ (hy) (zuyg)
- Azerbaijani: cüt (az)
- Bashkir: йоп (yop)
- Belarusian: цо́тны (cótny)
- Bulgarian: че́тен (bg) (čéten)
- Catalan: parell (ca)
- Chinese:
- Dungan: фонфур (fonfur)
- Mandarin: 雙數 / 双数 (zh) (shuāngshù), 偶數 / 偶数 (zh) (ǒushù)
- Czech: sudý (cs)
- Danish: jævn
- Dutch: even (nl), paar (nl)
- Esperanto: para (eo)
- Finnish: parillinen (fi)
- French: pair (fr) m, paire (fr) f
- Georgian: ლუწი (luc̣i) (luci)
- German: gerade (de)
- Greek: άρτιος (el) m (ártios), ζυγός (el) m (zygós)
- Ancient Greek: ἄρτιος (ártios)
- Hebrew: זוגי (he) (zugi)
- Hindi: सम (hi) (sam)
- Hungarian: páros (hu)
- Icelandic: jafn (is) m, sléttur (is) m
- Ido: para (io)
- Italian: pari (it)
- Japanese: 偶数 (ja) (ぐうすう, gūsū), 丁 (ja) (ちょう, chō) (dice)
- Kalmyk: төгс (tögs)
- Khmer: គូ (km) (kuu)
- Korean: 우수의 (ko) (usuui), 짝수의 (ko) (jjaksuui)
- Kumyk: жут (jut)
- Latin: pār (la)
- Latvian: pāra
- Luxembourgish: gerued
- Macedonian: парен (paren)
- Malay: genap (ms)
- Middle English: even
- Norwegian: jevn (no)
- Occitan: par (oc)
- Polish: parzysty (pl)
- Portuguese: par (pt)
- Romanian: par (ro) m, pară (ro) f
- Russian: чётный (ru) (čótnyj)
- Scottish Gaelic: cothrom
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: па̑ран m
- Latin: pȃran (sh) m
- Slovak: párny
- Slovene: sod (sl)
- Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian: rowny
- Spanish: par (es)
- Swedish: jämn (sv)
- Tagalog: tukol
- Tamil: இரட்டைப்படை (ta) (iraṭṭaippaṭai)
- Telugu: సరి (te) (sari)
- Thai: คู่ (th) (kûu)
- Turkish: çift (tr)
- Ukrainian: па́рний (párnyj)
- Vietnamese: chẵn (vi)
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of a number: convenient for rounding other numbers to — see also round
on equal monetary terms; neither owing nor being owed
- Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
- Finnish: sujut (fi)
- Middle English: even
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Noun
even (plural evens)
- (mathematics, diminutive) An even number.
So let's see. There are two evens here and three odds.
Translations
References
- “even”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- ^ Schaffner, Stefan (2000). “Altindisch amnás, urgermanisch *eƀna-, kelt. *eμno-.” In: Indoarisch, Iranisch und die Indogermanistik. Akten des Kolloquiums der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft vom 2. bis 5. Oktober 1997 in Erlangen, Forssman, Bernhard & Plath, Robert (eds.), Wiesbaden, pp. 491–505. In German.
Etymology 2
Proto-Indo-European *-nos English even Inherited from Middle English evene, from Old English efne, from efn (“even”) + -e (adverbial suffix).
Adverb
even (not comparable)
- Used to emphasise an extreme, unexpected or surprising case or circumstance.
Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes.
I feel lonely even when I'm in a room full of people.
He won't apologise, not even to his mother.
Did you even make it through the front door?
I didn't even know her name.
That was before I was even born.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 2:He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.
1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, […]. Even such a boat as the Mount Vernon offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either.
1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.
2013 June 29, “Unspontaneous combustion”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 29:Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles.
- Used to emphasise a comparative.
I was strong before, but now I am even stronger.
- Used to indicate a further degree of comparison.
Bob is taller than Alice, but Cameron is even taller than Bob.
- (informal) Rather; that is (used to signal a correction of a previous utterance).
My favorite actor is Jack Nicklaus. Jack Nicholson, even.
- (archaic) Exactly; just; fully.
I fulfilled my instructions even as I had promised.
You are leaving tonight? — Even so.
This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you.
1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 36, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 177:But on the occasion in question, those dents looked deeper, even as his nervous step that morning left a deeper mark.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
exactly, fully
- Afrikaans: nog (af)
- Bashkir: теүәл (tewäl)
- Bulgarian: то́чно (bg) (tóčno)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
- French: exactement (fr), complètement (fr)
- Galician: mesmo (gl)
- Georgian: -ც (-c)
- Greek: ακριβώς (el) (akrivós)
- Hungarian: pontosan (hu), teljesen (hu)
- Italian: esattamente (it), completamente (it)
- Macedonian: токму (tokmu), баш (baš)
- Middle English: evene
- Portuguese: exatamente (pt), completamente (pt), mesmo (pt), justo (pt)
- Romanian: chiar (ro), exact (ro)
- Russian: то́чно (ru) (tóčno), ро́вно (ru) (róvno), как ра́з (ru) (kak ráz)
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- Afrikaans: selfs (af)
- Arabic: حَتَّى (ar) (ḥattā)
- Armenian: նույնիսկ (hy) (nuynisk)
- Asturian: mesmo, mesmamente, inclusive, hasta (ast), inda (ast), aínda (ast)
- Azerbaijani: hətta (az), belə (az), da (az), də
- Bashkir: хатта (xatta)
- Belarusian: на́ват (návat)
- Belizean Creole: fahn
- Breton: zoken (br)
- Bulgarian: да́же (bg) (dáže), дори́ (bg) (dorí)
- Burmese: တောင် (my) (taung)
- Catalan: fins i tot (ca), àdhuc (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 連 / 连 (zh) (lián), 甚至 (zh) (shènzhì)
- Comorian:
- Ngazidja Comorian: hata
- Czech: dokonce (cs), ještě (cs), vůbec (cs), i (cs) (different use cases)
- Dutch: zelfs (nl), zelfs maar (nl), überhaupt (nl), (niet) eens
- Esperanto: eĉ (eo)
- Estonian: isegi (et)
- Finnish: jopa (fi), edes (fi)
- French: même (fr), voire (fr)
- Galician: aínda (gl), até (gl), incluso, nin (gl), nin sequera, mesmo (gl)
- Georgian: კი (ḳi), -ც (-c)
- German: sogar (de), überhaupt (de), (nicht) mal (de)
- Greek: ακόμη και (el) (akómi kai), καν (el) (kan)
- Hebrew: אפילו \ אֲפִלּוּ (he) (afílu)
- Hindi: और भी (aur bhī)
- Hungarian: még (hu), egyáltalán (hu)
- Ido: mem (io)
- Indonesian: bahkan (id)
- Ingrian: daaže, ees
- Irish: fiú
- Old Irish: cid
- Italian: addirittura (it), perfino (it), neppure (it)
- Japanese: さえ (ja) (sae), にも (ja) (nimo), も (ja) (mo), まで (ja) (made), も (ja) (mo)
- Kazakh: да (kk) (da), де (de)
- Khmer: សូម្បី (soumbəy), សូម្បីតែ (soumbəy tae), ទាំង (km) (tĕəng)
- Korean: -조차 (-jocha), 심지어 (ko) (simjieo), -도 (-do), -까지 (-kkaji), 까지도 (-kkaji-do)
- Kyrgyz: да (ky) (da), жадаганда (jadaganda)
- Ladino:
- Latin: bilé
- Lao: please add this translation if you can
- Latin: etiam (la), adeō (la)
- Latvian: pat
- Lingala: ata
- Lithuanian: ir (lt), net (lt)
- Macedonian: дури (duri)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: til og med (no), selv (no), sågar (no) (obsolete, poetic)
- Nynorsk: sjølv, endåtil, jamvel, til og med
- Old English: furþum
- Persian:
- Iranian Persian: حَتَّیٰ (hattâ)
- Polish: nawet (pl)
- Portuguese: até (pt), mesmo (pt), nem sequer
- Romanian: chiar (ro)
- Russian: да́же (ru) (dáže), (in questions) вообще́ (ru) (voobščé), аж (ru) (až) (colloquial), ещё и (ješčó i)
- Scottish Gaelic: eadhan
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: чак
- Latin: čak (sh)
- Sicilian: accuḍḍì, d'accuḍḍì, d'accuḍḍini
- Slovak: dokonca, až, aj (sk)
- Slovene: celó (sl)
- Spanish: incluso (es), hasta (es), siquiera (es), tan siquiera
- Swedish: även (sv), ens (sv), till och med (sv), rentav (sv)
- Tajik: ҳатто (tg) (hatto)
- Thai: แม้ (th) (mɛ́ɛ)
- Turkish: bile (tr), dahi (tr), hatta (tr)
- Ukrainian: на́віть (návitʹ)
- Urdu: اَور بھی (aur bhī)
- Uzbek: hatto (uz), hattoki (uz)
- Vietnamese: ngay cả (vi), thậm chí (vi)
- Welsh: hyd yn oed
- Yiddish: אַפֿילו (afile)
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emphasising comparative
- Afrikaans: nog...nog
- Asturian: tovía (ast), aínda (ast)
- Belarusian: яшчэ́ (jaščé)
- Bulgarian: да́же (bg) (dáže), дори́ (bg) (dorí), о́ще (bg) (óšte)
- Catalan: encara (ca)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 更加 (gang3 gaa1)
- Mandarin: 更 (zh) (gēng), 更加 (zh) (gèngjiā)
- Czech: ještě (cs)
- Dutch: nog (nl)
- Finnish: vielä (fi)
- French: encore (fr), même (fr)
- Galician: ainda (gl), mesmo (gl), aínda (gl)
- Georgian: -ც (-c)
- German: noch (de)
- Greek: ακόμη (el) (akómi)
- Hebrew: אפילו \ אֲפִלּוּ (he) (afílu)
- Hungarian: még (hu)
- Icelandic: enn (is), ennþá (is)
- Ido: mem (io)
- Irish: fós
- Italian: ancora (it)
- Japanese: もっと (ja) (motto)
- Korean: 더 (ko) (deo)
- Macedonian: уште (ušte)
- Navajo: ndi
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: enda (no)
- Nynorsk: endå, enda
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Cyrillic: ѥште (ješte)
- Old East Slavic: още (ošče)
- Old English: ġīet
- Persian: هنوز (fa) (hanuz)
- Polish: nawet (pl), jeszcze (pl)
- Portuguese: igualmente (pt), ainda (pt)
- Romanian: și (ro)
- Russian: да́же (ru) (dáže), ещё (ru) (ješčó)
- Scottish Gaelic: eadhan
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: јо̏ш
- Latin: jȍš (sh)
- Slovak: ešte
- Slovene: celó (sl), še (sl)
- Spanish: aun (es), incluso (es)
- Swedish: än (sv), än nu, ännu (sv)
- Turkish: da (tr)
- Ukrainian: ще (uk) (šče)
- Vietnamese: lại còn, lại (vi), còn (vi)
- Yiddish: אַפֿילו (afile)
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correction of one's previous utterance
Etymology 3
Proto-Indo-European *-nos Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ English even Inherited from Middle English evenen, from Old English efnian, from Proto-West Germanic *ebnōn, from Proto-Germanic *ebnōną, from *ebnaz (“even”) + *-ōną (factitive suffix).
Verb
even (third-person singular simple present evens, present participle evening, simple past and past participle evened)
- (transitive) To make flat and level.
We need to even this playing field; the west goal is too low.
1669, John Evelyn, “Kalendarium Hortense: OrThe Gard’ners Almanac; […] [October.]”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], 3rd edition, London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, →OCLC, page 27:[...] It will now be good to Beat, Roll, and Mow Carpet-walks, and Cammomile; for now the ground is ſupple, and it will even all inequalities: [...]
- (transitive, obsolete) To equal or equate; to make the same.
1639, Thomas Fuller, “Discords betwixt the French and English; the Death & Disposition of Meladine King of Egypt”, in The Historie of the Holy Warre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck, one of the printers to the Universitie of Cambridge [and sold by John Williams, London], →OCLC, book IV, page 192:
1886 May 1 – July 31, Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 1886, →OCLC:“But aside from that,” I continued, “what have I done that you should even me to dogs by such a supposition? I never yet failed a friend, and it’s not likely I’ll begin with you. There are things between us that I can never forget, even if you can.”
- (intransitive, obsolete) To be equal.
Thrice nine evens twenty seven.
1609, Richard Carew, The Survey of Cornwall, London: […] S[imon] S[tafford] for Iohn Iaggard, […], →OCLC:A redoubled numbering never eveneth with the first.
- (transitive, obsolete) To place in an equal state, as to obligation, or in a state in which nothing is due on either side; to balance, as accounts; to make quits.
We need to even the score.
c. 1604–05, William Shakespeare, All's Well that Ends Well, act 1, scene 3:Madam, the care I have had to even your content I wish might be found in the calendar of my past endeavours, for then we wound our modesty, and make foul the clearness of our deservings, when of ourselves we publish them.
- (transitive, obsolete) To set right; to complete.
- (transitive, obsolete) To act up to; to keep pace with.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to make even
- Bulgarian: изравнявам (bg) impf (izravnjavam), изравня (bg) pf (izravnja)
- Czech: vyrovnat (cs)
- Danish: jævne
- Dutch: evenen, gelijkmaken (nl), platmaken (nl)
- Finnish: tasoittaa (fi)
- French: aplatir (fr), égaliser (fr), niveler (fr)
- German: ebnen (de)
- Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gaibnjan)
- Greek: ισιώνω (el) m (isióno)
- Hungarian: kiegyenlít (hu), egyenget (hu), elegyenget (hu), kiegyenesít (hu), kiegyenlít (hu)
- Italian: spianare (it)
- Māori: whakaōrite
- Middle English: evenen
- Polish: wyrównać (pl)
- Portuguese: igualar (pt), nivelar (pt), padronizar (pt), uniformizar (pt)
- Russian: ровня́ть (ru) (rovnjátʹ), выра́внивать (ru) (vyrávnivatʹ)
- Spanish: allanar (es)
- Swedish: jämna (sv), jämna ut (sv), plana ut (sv), platta till (sv)
- Vietnamese: san bằng (vi), làm bằng (vi), làm phẳng
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Etymology 4
Proto-Indo-European *h₁éps English even
From Middle English even, from Old English ǣfen, from Proto-West Germanic *ābanþ, from Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs (“evening”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Äivend, Äiwend, Eeuwend (“evening”), West Frisian jûn (“evening”), Dutch avond (“evening”), Low German Avend (“evening”), German Abend (“evening”), Danish aften (“evening”). See also the related terms eve and evening.
Noun
even (plural evens)
- (archaic or poetic) Evening.
We'll meet at even, when the sun is set.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus 15:16, signature L2, verso, column 2:And if any mans ſeede of copulation goe out from him, then hee ſhall waſh all his fleſh in water, and bee vncleane vntill the Euen.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Anagrams
Chinese
Etymology
From English even or even if or even though.
Pronunciation
Conjunction
even
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, Taiwanese Mandarin) even though; even if
Synonyms
- 不怕 (bùpà)
- 任憑 / 任凭 (rènpíng)
- 作哩 (Zhangzhou Hokkien)
- 作算 (zo6 sonn4) (Xiang)
- 儘管 / 尽管
- 即令 (jílìng)
- 即使 (jíshǐ)
- 即便 (jíbiàn)
- 即或 (jíhuò)
- 即若 (jíruò) (literary)
- 哪怕 (nǎpà) (informal)
- 就 (jiù)
- 就使 (Hokkien)
- 就算 (jiùsuàn) (colloquial)
- 就若 (Hokkien)
- 就若是 (Hokkien)
- 怕不 (pàbù) (literary or dialectal)
- 縱 / 纵 (formal)
- 縱使 / 纵使 (zòngshǐ)
- 縱然 / 纵然 (zòngrán)
- 設令 / 设令 (shèlìng)
- 饒 / 饶 (ráo) (colloquial)
Dutch
Alternative forms
- effen (for the temporal senses of the adverb; colloquial; standard)
- effe (for the temporal senses of the adverb; colloquial; non-standard)
- ff (for the temporal senses of the adverb; slang, common chat abbreviation)
Etymology
From Middle Dutch even, effen, from Old Dutch *evan, from Proto-West Germanic *ebn, from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz.
Pronunciation
Adverb
even
- shortly, briefly
Ik zal even voor u kijken.- I shall have a look for you shortly.
- for a short period, for a while
In de tweede helft van de 19e eeuw bloeide Vollenhove weer even op.nl:Vollenhove#Geschiedenis- In the second half of the 19th century, Vollenhove flourished again for a while.
- for a moment; modal particle indicating that the speaker expects that something will require little time or effort.
Zou je even de deur voor me dicht willen doen?- Could you please close the door for me (for a moment)?
- just as, to the same degree (used with an adjective)
In het midden van de vloer stond een tafel van wel vier meter hoog en een even grote stoel er bij.- In the middle of the floor there stood a four-metre tall table and a chair just as large beside it.
- (Netherlands) quite, rather
Die is even kwaad!- He's rather angry!
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
- Javindo: efen
- Negerhollands: even, eeven
- → Caribbean Javanese: éfe (via Sranan Tongo)
- → Kwinti: even
Adjective
even (not comparable)
- even, opposite of odd
- Antonym: oneven
- (archaic) even, equal, level
- Antonym: oneven
Declension
Derived terms
Anagrams
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch *evan, from Proto-West Germanic *ebn, from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz.
Adjective
ēven
- even, equal
Declension
This adjective needs an inflection-table template.
Descendants
Adverb
ēven
- just as, equally
Descendants
Further reading
- “even (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- “even (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “even (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “evene (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page evene
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English efn, from Proto-West Germanic *ebn, from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Adjective
even (plural and weak singular evene)
- Smooth, level, even:
- Near-synonyms: smethe, smothe
- Antonym: uneven
- Straight, direct; not crooked.
- Horizontal, level; not angled or sloped.
- Aligned, balanced; in alignment.
- Uniform, smooth (of flour, motion, or paste)
- Calm, unruffled, steadfast (usually emotionally):
- Just, impartial; not biased or unfair.
- Antonym: uneven
- Even (free of debts or obligations)
- Equal, identical, the same.
- Antonym: uneven
- Even (divisible by two)
- Coordinate terms: odde, uneven
- (rare) Moderate, medium; not extreme.
- (rare) Sufficient, satisfactory.
Related terms
Descendants
References
- “ēven, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- “even, adj.1 & n.2”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
- “evin, ewin, a.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from William A[lexander] Craigie, A[dam] J[ack] Aitken [et al.], editors, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1931–2002, →OCLC.
Etymology 2
From Old English ǣfen, from Proto-West Germanic *ābanþ, from Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs.
Alternative forms
- efen, evyn
- evon, evone, evyne, ȝeven, ȝevyn, yeven (Late Middle English); aven, eaven (Laȝamon's Brut); efenn (Ormulum)
- hevyn (East Anglia); ewyn (Northern); evin, ewine, ewyne, eyn (Early Scots)
Pronunciation
Noun
even (plural evenes)
- The evening; the time of day between afternoon and night.
- Synonyms: eve, eventide, evenynge, (rare) evetide
- The evening before a feast day or holiday.
- Synonym: eve
Related terms
Descendants
References
Etymology 3
Adverb
even
- alternative form of evene (“evenly”)
Etymology 4
Noun
even
- alternative form of evene (“form, cause, capacity”)
Etymology 5
Noun
even
- alternative form of hevene
Etymology 6
Verb
even
- alternative form of evenen
Norwegian Nynorsk
Noun
even m
- definite singular of eve
Anagrams
Scots
Etymology
Inherited from Middle Scots evin, evyn, from Middle English even (“evening”). Cognate with English even (“evening”).[1]
Noun
even
- evening[2]
1882, William Alexander, My Ain Folk, pages 187, 207:I'll win hame at even at ony rate. […] Dinna ye never gae fae hame at even?- I'll get home in the evening at any rate. […] Don't you ever go away from home in the evening?
Usage notes
Generally used in the phrase at even ("in the evening").[2]
Related terms
References
- ^ “Evin, n.1”, in A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue[1], 1951
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “Even, n.”, in Scottish National Dictionary[2], 1976
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