ever

pos>adv. [ OE. ever, æfre, AS. æfre; perh. akin to AS. ā always. Cf. Aye, Age, Evry, Never. ] [ Sometimes contracted into e'er. ] 1. At any time; at any period or point of time. [ 1913 Webster ]

No man ever yet hated his own flesh. Eph. v. 29. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. At all times; through all time; always; forever. [ 1913 Webster ]

He shall ever love, and always be
The subject of by scorn and cruelty. Dryder. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Without cessation; continually. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Ever is sometimes used as an intensive or a word of enforcement. “His the old man e'er a son?” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To produce as much as ever they can. M. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ever and anon, now and then; often. See under Anon. --
Ever is one, continually; constantly. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. --
Ever so, in whatever degree; to whatever extent; -- used to intensify indefinitely the meaning of the associated adjective or adverb. See Never so, under Never. “Let him be ever so rich.” Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ] And all the question (wrangle e'er so long),
Is only this, if God has placed him wrong. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ] You spend ever so much money in entertaining your equals and betters. Thackeray. --
For ever, eternally. See Forever. --
For ever and a day, emphatically forever. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] She [ Fortune ] soon wheeled away, with scornful laughter, out of sight for ever and day. Prof. Wilson. --
Or ever (for or ere), before. See Or, ere. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ] Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven
Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Ever is sometimes joined to its adjective by a hyphen, but in most cases the hyphen is needless; as, ever memorable, ever watchful, ever burning. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>a. Everlasting. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. the highest mountain in the world, situated in Nepal and Tibet; 29, 028 feet high. proper name Also used as a metaphor for a high mountain.
Syn. -- Mount Everest, Mt. Everest. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A swamp or low tract of land inundated with water and interspersed with hummocks, or small islands, and patches of high grass; as, the everglades of Florida. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ When used in the United States without qualification, the word Everglades is understood to refer to the Everglades of southern Florida. [ PJC ]

pos>a. (Bot.) Remaining unwithered through the winter, or retaining unwithered leaves until the leaves of the next year are expanded, as pines cedars, hemlocks, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Bot.) An evergreen plant. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. pl. Twigs and branches of evergreen plants used for decoration. “The funeral evengreens entwine.” Keble.

. Washington; -- a nickname alluding to the abundance of evergreen trees. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. Eternal duration, past or future; eternity. [ 1913 Webster ]

From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Ps. xc. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (With the definite article) The Eternal Being; God. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot.) A plant whose flowers may be dried without losing their form or color, as, the pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), the immortelle (Xeranthemum anuum) of the French, the cudweeds, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A cloth fabric for shoes, etc. See Lasting. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>a. 1. Lasting or enduring forever; exsisting or continuing without end; immortal; eternal. “The Everlasting God.” Gen. xx1. 33. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Continuing indefinitely, or during a long period; perpetual; sometimes used, colloquially, as a strong intensive; as, this everlasting nonsence. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will give to thee, and to thy seed after thee . . . the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. Gen xvii. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

And heard thy everlasting yawn confess
The pains and penalties of idleness. Pope.

Syn. -- Eternal; immortal, interminable; endless; never-ending; infinite; unceasing; uninterrupted; continual; unintermitted; incessant. -- Everlasting, Eternal. Eternal denotes (when taken strictly) without beginning or end of duration; everlasting is sometimes used in our version of the Scriptures in the sense of eternal, but in modern usage is confined to the future, and implies no intermission as well as no end. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whether we shall meet again I know not;
Therefore our everlasting farewell take;
Forever, and forever farewell, Cassius. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Everlasting flower. Sane as Everlasting, n., 3. --
Everlasting pea, an ornamental plant (Lathyrus latifolius) related to the pea; -- so called because it is perennial. [ 1913 Webster ]