| 释义 |
▪ I. even, n.|ˈiːv(ə)n|
Forms: 1 ǽfen, ǽfan, Mercian éfen, Northumbr. éfern, 2–3 æfen, 2 afen, 3 Orm. efenn, 3–6 eaven, (3 æven, aven, 5 evon, ȝeven, -yn), 4–6 evin, -yn, ewin, -yn, 6 (heven), eeven, (9 dial. eem), 3– even. Also contracted 7 eevn, ev'n, 9 dial. e'en. See also eve.
[OE. ǽfen, éfen, éfern, neut. and masc., cogn. with OFris. âvond, êwnd, OS. âƀand (Du. avond), OHG. âband (MHG. âbent, mod.G. abend) masc.; perh. also with the synonymous ON. aptann, aftann (Sw. afton, Da. aften), though this may be of different origin, cogn. with after. The OE. forms appear to agree only in the root (OAryan ēp or ēbh) with the other Teut. forms: the OTeut. type of the OHG., OS., OFris. forms would be *æ̂ƀando-, that of the OE. ǽfen, éfen would be *æ̂ƀinjo- or *æ̂ƀunjo-. The ONorthumb. éfern is app. an alteration of éfen(n; cf. ONorthumb. wœ́stern, festern (= WS. wésten, fæsten), and OFris. forms like epernia to open.
One hypothesis as to the relation of the forms is that *æ̂ƀando- represents a pre-Teut. *ēpont-, a pr. pple. act., and that derivatives of a corresponding passive pple. occur in ON. aptann:— *ēptono-) and OE. ǽfen (:— *æ̂ƀunjo-:— *ēptn̥yo- or *ēpn̥yo-. The etymological sense is unknown; a not inappropriate meaning for the act. and pass. formations is suggested by Gr. ἤπιος, mild, gentle (sometimes used with reference to temperature) which may possibly belong to the same root.]
1. The latter part or close of the day; evening. Also in phrases even and (nor) morn; at even and at prime, at all times of the day; good even, a salutation (see further good, good even); yestereven (Sc. yestreen), yesterday evening (see yester). Obs. exc. poet. and dial.
Beowulf 1235 æfen cwom and him Hroþgar ᵹewat. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Mark vi. 47 Miððy efern woere wæs scip in middum sæes. a1000Guthlac 1216 (Gr.), Engel ufancundne, se mec efna ᵹehwam..ᵹesohte. c1040Rule St. Benet (ed. Logeman) 82 Þæt þæt eis towyrcanne hi wyrcan oððe æfan. a1123O.E. Chron. an. 1106 On æfen ætywde an..steorra. c1200Ormin 1105 He wass all daȝȝ Unnclene anan till efenn. c1205Lay. 19570 Þa hit wes eauen. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1675 Iacob wurð drunken, and euen cam. c1340Cursor M. 6385 (Fairf.), Fra heyuen þen come þaire fode..euen & morne hit con falle. c1430Lydg. Bochas ii. xxii. (1554) 58 a, Socrates..wisest named at euen and at prime. c1460Towneley Myst., Oblacio Mag. 125 We shalle not rest, even nor morne. 1535Coverdale Ezek. xii. 4 Thou thy self shalt go forth also at euen in their sight. 1538Bale Thre Lawes 178 God geue ye good euen. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. v. ii. 42 She did intend confession At Patricks cell this even. 1600― A.Y.L. ii. iv. 69 Peace I say; good euen to your friend. 1622May Virgil (J.), The sun's orb both even and morn is bright. 1660Howell Dict. s.v., Good even (or by contraction Goodeen). 1697Dryden Virg. (J.), Th' unerring sun..declares, What the late ev'n or early morn prepares. 1759Johnson Rasselas ii, From the dawn of morning to the close of even. 1816J. Wilson City of Plague ii. ii. 228 A plaintive tune..sung at fall of even. 1816Scott Old Mort. x, ‘My cousin winna stay ony langer, Mr. Halliday; sae, if ye please, gude-e'en t'ye.’ 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. vi, Good even to you. 1843A. Bethune Sc. Fireside Stor. 279 Daylight, done at four o'clock, Yields to the lang dark e'en.
2. The eve of a holy day or church festival. Rarely in wider sense: The evening or the day before (a certain day or event). fastryn even (Sc.: now fastryn's e'en) = Shrove Tuesday; the Kings' even = Twelfth-night. Obs. exc. dial.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 171 Þe euen of þe Trinite vnder Acres R. gan aryue. 1375Barbour Bruce x. 440 As apon fastryn even is The custom. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ix. xxxi. (1495) 368 To Ester perteyneth the euyn therof that..is callyd..the holy Saterday. c1420Chron. Vilod. 1020 Þe whiche in Mydwyntrus ȝevyn to þ'chirche dude gonne. 1463Bury Wills (Camd. Soc.) 17 On the evyn [of the funeral] myn solempne dirige shalbe kept. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour D ij, Upon the vygyl or euen of our lady. a1536Tindale Prol. to Jonas Wks. I. 450 The saints..torment the souls in hell, if their evens be not fasted. 1549Cranmer in Strype Life App. xl, Vigils, otherwise called Watchings, remain in the Calendars upon certain Saints' Evens. a1572Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 230 Upoun the Kinges Evin, when French men commonlie use to drynk liberallie. 1587Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1286/1 He died on Maie eeuen. 1623Minsheu s.v., An holy daies Euen. 1764Burn Poor Laws 13 No labourer..shall take any hire..for the evens of feasts. 1855Robinson Whitby Gloss., E'en, Kessenmas e'en..Cannelmas e'en. a1891Mod. dial. (Sheffield), Christmas eem.
3. attrib. and Comb. (= ‘evening’), as even-bell, even-blush, even-light, even-prayer, even-rising, even-time; also even-close, the closing in of the evening; even-fall, the ‘fall’ or commencement of the evening; even-fire, evening gun; evenglome (arch.; revival of OE. ǽfenglóm), gloaming, twilight; even-mete, arch. (OE. ǽfen-mete), evening-meal, supper; † even-while, eventide, eventime. Also evensong, even-star, eventide.
a1450Le Morte Arth. 2236 By the tyme of *euyn belle.
1835Browning Paracelsus Wks. I. 5 From *even-blush to midnight.
1845Hirst Poems 23 Came *even-close And darkness; yet they turned not back.
1814Southey Paraguay Ded., One thrush was heard from morn to *even⁓fall. 1859W. H. Gregory Egypt II. 200 Flamingoes..winging their rosy flight at evenfall across the bay.
1879H. Duvar D'Anville's Fleet in Poems of Places, Brit. Amer. 34 At *even-fire the bells were rung.
a1000Guthlac 1265 (Gr.), From *æfenglome oðþæt eastan cwom..dægredwoma. 1871M. Collins Inn of Strange Meetings 25 The robins singing in the evenglome.
Beowulf 5014 Siððan *æfen-leoht under heofenes hador beholen weorþeð. a1400MS. Cantab. Ff. i. 6. f. 66 (Halliw.), Sche..sey it is ferr in the nyght, And I swere it is evenlight. a1440Sir Degrev. 1601 Syre Degrivaunt at evene-lyȝth Armede hym and hys knyȝth.
c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 26 æt þæm *æfen-mete. 1848Lytton Harold xi. vii, The even-mete will summon thee soon.
1660Howell Dict. s.v., Evensong, or *Even Prayer.
1601Holland Pliny I. 13 The planet Mercurie seldome hath his *euen rising in Pisces.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Mark xi. 11 Þa *æfen tima [c 1160 Hatton afen time] wæs he ferde to bethaniam. c1205Lay. 17860 A þan auen time. 1870Rossetti Dante at Verona xxxiv, Flushed in the limpid eventime.
c1350Will. Palerne 1747 To heiȝ vs hastily henne..euenly þis *euen while.
▪ II. even, a.|ˈiːv(ə)n|
Forms: 1 ebn, efen, æfen, efn, emn, in comb. em-, 2–3 efn(e, æfne, Orm. efenn, effen, emne, 3–4 evene, 4–6 evin(e, -yn, ewyn(e, (5 evan, heven, 6 evne), 6–7 ea-, eeven, 4– even.
[Common Teutonic: OE. efen, efn, by assimilation emn = OFris. even, evin, OS. eban (Du. even, effen), OHG. eban, epan (Ger. eben), ON. iafn, iamn (Da. jevn, Sw. jemn), Goth. ibns:—OTeut. *eƀno-.
The word has not yet been satisfactorily connected with any other Teut. or Aryan word; hence it is uncertain whether the primary sense was ‘level’ or ‘equal, like’.]
1. a. Of a piece of ground, a country, etc.: Flat, plain, level, not hilly or sloping.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. ii. §4 Seo burg wæs ᵹetimbred an fildum lande & on swiþe emnum. c1400Destr. Troy 2078 Set full sad on a soile euyn. 1605Shakes. Lear iv. vi. 3 Glo. Me thinkes the ground is eeuen. Edg. Horrible steepe. 1605Verstegan Dec. Intell. iv. (1628) 100 They are euen and plaine without any hilles or hilly grounds. 1692Bentley Boyle Lect. 78 Our sight..would be terminated..in the largest and evenest plain by the very convexity of the earth. 1705Addison Italy (1733) 175 The present Face of Rome is much more Even and Level than it was formerly. 1859Tennyson Geraint & Enid 239 At last they..climb'd upon a fair and even ridge.
b. Of uniform height.
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §70 Beastes alone..wyll not eate a pasture euen, but leaue many tuftes and hygh grasse in dyuers places. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, iii. iv. 36 All must be euen, in our Gouernment. 1601B. Jonson Poetaster iv. ix, Both waies, I am too high; and thou, too lowe, Our Mindes are euen, yet. a1626Davies (J.), When he did set his foot in the middle, all the other parts lay flat and even.
c. In a level position; horizontal. Obs. exc. Naut. in phrase, (on) an even keel.
1375Barbour Bruce iii. 136 He laid hym ewyn him beforn. c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §29 Lat thyn Astrelabie kowch adown evene upon a smothe grond. 1836Marryat Midsh. Easy xxvi, The frigate was on an even keel. c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 117 A ship is said to swim on an even keel when she draws the same quantity of water abaft as forwards. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxvi. (1856) 213, I wish it would give us an even keel.
2. Of surfaces or lines: Uniform, without inequality; smooth.
a1225Ancr. R. 2 Þe on [riwle] riwleð þe heorte, þe makeð hire efne & smeðe, wiðute knotte & dolke of woh inwit. 1340Ayenb. 151 Efterward he deþ al be reule, þet makeþ þane wal emne. a1350Childh. Jesus 1382 Þis treo mot beo..At eithur ende euene and quarre. 1535Coverdale 1 Chron. xiii. 15 The valleys were eauen both [Luther dass alle Grunde eben waren] towarde the East and towarde the West. 1552Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 28 Ane biggare can nocht make ane evin up wal without direction of his lyne. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 141 b, Looke..that..the grounde bee made fayre and even, some thing hanging. 1580Baret Alv. E 364 To make eeuen with the rule, exæquare ad regulam. 1664Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 202 Cut close and even. 1693Dryden tr. Persius vi, To see a beggar's brat in riches flow, Adds not a wrinkle to my even brow. 1697― Virg. Georg. iv. 213 He knew to rank his Elms in even Rows. 1704Newton Optics (J.), The superficies of such plates are not even, but have many cavities and swellings. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 34 Parterres..should be flat, eaven, and disengaged. c1720Prior Poems, Charity, Charity..Lays the rough paths of peevish nature even. 1781Cowper Anti-Thelyp. 47 Smooth and even as an iv'ry ball. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 486 The water in the bay was as even as glass. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. I. 213 Hedges..as even as a brick-wall at the top and sides.
3. Uniform alike throughout (in colour, texture, consistency, quality, etc.).
1821Craig Lect. Drawing vii. 406 Nor can it..produce a light even tint of any extent. 1846Trotter in Baxter's Lib. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 347 These last [turnips] are..the evenest and best crop..The whole field is an even piece, not having suffered from the fly. 1883F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius viii, The sky was of an even lead colour.
†4. Of a path: Straight, direct. Of movements or speech: Direct, straightforward. Of a visible object: Directly in front. Obs.
c1200Ormin 9214 Þær shulenn beon..effne & smeþe weȝȝess. c1325Metr. Hom. 48, I bid you mac the gates euin To Crist. c1470Harding Chron. lxii. v, Constantyne sawe a crosse..full euine. 1594Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. viii. (1611) 17 As the straight way is most acceptable to him that trauaileth..so in action that which doth lye the euenest betweene vs and the end we desire. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, iv. viii. 114 In plaine shock, and euen play of Battaile. 1602― Ham. ii. ii. 298 Be euen and direct with me, whether you were sent for or no.
5. a. Level with († to); neither higher or lower. arch.
a1300Cursor M. 11688 Þe tre it boued doune..Þe crope was euen wid þe rote. 1420E.E. Wills (1882) 52 A flate ston off marbill, ewyn with the grounde. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 135 When Demetrius wonne the Citie, and made it euen to the ground. 1611Bible Luke xix. 44 And shall lay thee euen with the ground. 1626Purchas Pilgr. (ed. 4) 434 The nether part of the Sunne seeming iust and euen with it. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxxvi. 142 On the out-side about eight and thirty foot high above the water, and on the in-side even with the ground. 1698Froger Voy. 33 Waiting till the Fish swim even with the Surface of the Water.
b. In the same plane or line (with). Also (of a course, etc.) parallel; (of the two ends of an object) in line with the centre.
a1350Childh. Jesus 1425 Josep swiþe glad was þo Þat euene weren þe endes two. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary (1625) A iiij, I have applied a number of Figures..and Tropes in the margent of every Epistle, even with the places where they are used. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. ii. 83 His life is paralel'd Euen with the stroke and line of his great Iustice. 1663Gerbier Counsel 22 The Chimney to be made even with the upright of the wall. 1712F. T. Shorthand 11 Write the Consonant in an even line with the foregoing Consonant. 1726Leoni tr. Alberti's Archit. I. 72 b, You may..make a..foundation for every particular Peer..lying directly even with the current of the water. 1748Anson's Voy ii. ii. 127 A ship to leeward, with her courses even with the horizon.
6. Accurately coincident or accordant; exactly adjusted; spec. in type-setting, to make even, make even lines, or end even: to space out the last few lines of copy, so as to make the last a full line.
c1400Rom. Rose 5821 We been at one, By even accord of everichone. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 73 b, Good Grafters, thinke it best to hold the Graffe even with both hands. 1597Morley Introd. Mus. 89 The third is a driuing waie in two crotchets and a minime, but odded by a rest, so that it neuer commeth euen till the close. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 277 Lay the streight edge even upon the line AE.
†7. Of computed results, statements, etc.: Exact, precise. Also, ‘(The) exact’ (place etc.).
c1300Cursor M. 20834 (Edinb.) Qua wel can caste sal finde it euin. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxiii. 270 Hevene haueþ evene numbre, and helle is with-oute numbre. a1470Tiptoft Caesar xiii. (1530) 18 Fewe or none of them [ships] came to the even port. 1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. ii. xliv, It maketh iust xxix, the euen halfe of fifty and eight. 1601Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 326 To make the euen truth in pleasure flow.
8. Of actions, movements, processes, continuous states: Uniform, free from fluctuations. Of the mind, temper, etc.: Free from variations, ‘equal’, equable, unruffled.
c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xlii. 306 Ðæs wisan monnes mod bið suiðe emn. a1240Sawles Warde in Cott. Hom. 265 Þole wið efne heorte þe dom of rihtwisnesse. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 193 Þer come in tuelf olde men myd euene pas þere. 1382Wyclif Baruch iv. 5 Thou peple of God, be of euener inwitt. c1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 811 With euene herte I rede yow tendure This strook of ffortune or of auenture. c1440Promp. Parv. 143 Euen in meuynge [printed menynge] or clothynge. 1561T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. To Rdr., That I may with euen sufferance continue in the course of his holy calling. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. i. 37, I know my life so euen. 1710Addison Tatler No. 192 ⁋5 Persons of even Tempers and uniform Dispositions. 1766Johnson in Boswell Feb., Pope's [horses] go at a steady even trot. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 177/2 Pericles acquired..a firm and even tone of voice. 1850Tennyson In Mem. lxxxv, My blood an even tenour kept. 1870Huxley Lay Serm. xiv. 334 The even rhythm of the breathing of every one of us.
9. Equally balanced; in a state of equilibrium; ‘not inclining to either side’ (J.).
1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 39 Bearing her sword so euen, that neither the poore are trod vnder foote, nor the rich suffred to loke too hye. 1607Shakes. Cor. iv. vii. 37 He has A Noble seruant to them; but he could not Carry his honors eeuen. 1655–60Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 188/1 Its proper place..by reason of its even weight is the Centre. 1667Milton P.L. i. 349 In even ballance down they light. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 69 The Hand must be carried along the whole length..exactly even. 1742Young Nt. Th. viii. 1180 An Eye impartial, and an even Scale. c1819Bentham Wks. (1843) II. 446 The balance is now restored. The two scales hang even. 1863W. Phillips Speeches vii. 155 He holds the scales of justice most exactly even. 1866J. Martineau Ess. I. 67 The balance cannot be expected to hang..even.
10. a. Of accounts, affairs, a reckoning: Having no balance or debt on either side; ‘square.’
1551T. Wilson Logike (1567) 2 b, Arithmetik by nomber can make Reckenynges to be euen. 1596Harington Metam. Ajax Pref. (1814) 14 For a man to make even his reckonings. 1605Bp. Hall Medit. & Vows B. 2 §4 It hath beene an olde and true Proverbe, Oft and even reckoninges make long friends. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull (1755) 14 How is it possible for a man of business to keep his affairs even in the world at this rate? a1716South (J.), Even reckoning makes lasting friends.
b. to be even: to be square or quits; to have settled accounts. † to make even: to square accounts. † to make even for: to compensate for.
1511Plumpton Corr. p. cxviii, Memor. That Sir Robert Plompton..is even for every thing to this present day of August. 1594R. Haydocke tr. Lomazzo To Rdr., I haue bettered mine, or at the least made even for such other imperfections, as can hardly escape the best translators. 1618Bolton Florus iv. ix. (1636) 308 By the slaughter of Pacorus, wee were even for Crassus overthrow. 1622S. Ward Christ All in All (1627) 36 When he had distributed all he had to the poore, and made euen with his reuenues, etc. 1637Rutherford Lett. No. 113 (1862) i. 283, I know that Christ and I shall never be Even: I shall die in His debt. 1661Pepys Diary 25 June, I made even with my father and the two drapers for the cloths I sent to sea lately. 1780Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 21 June, I wish I had been with you to see the Isle of Wight; but I shall perhaps go some time without you, and then we shall be even.
c. to be even († evens) with: to be quits with; to have one's revenge upon.
14..Merch. & Son in Halliw. Nugæ Poet. 32 My fadur ys evyn wyth all the worlde. 1589Hay any Work A ij b, Ile be euen with them to. 1626Buck. Imp. (1889) 63 Wherre uppon hee vowed to bee even with our Inglish. 1655–60Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 111/1, I will be even with you for this scorn. a1719Addison (J.), The publick is always even with an author who has not a just deference for them. 1752A. Breck Stewart in Scots Mag. July (1753) 339/1 He would be evens with him. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxvii, I was determined to be even with Barnardine for refusing to tell me the secret. 1831Lytton Godolph. 9 Come out, and I'll be even with you, pretty one. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 264 Verily I would be even with thee, if I had the power.
d. to get even (with): to take one's revenge (on), to retaliate (against). orig. U.S.
1846S. F. Smith Theatr. Apprent. 148, I took my seat with the hope of getting even. 1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad I. xxv. 250 One should always ‘get even’ in some way, else the sore place will go on hurting. 1889Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang I. 402/2 Those who think this country [sc. America] fails to get even with France for her unjust discrimination against American pork. 1906F. H. Burnett Shuttle xxxiii. 330 There exists for people of a certain type a pleasure full-fed by the mere sense of having ‘got even’ with an opponent. Through⁓out his life he had made a point of ‘getting even’ with those who had irritatingly crossed his path. 1910Granta 11 June 9, I feel that I can never get quite even with him again. 1923L. J. Vance Baroque 40 Crooks..blow the works to get even.
e. (on) even terms (see quots.). Austral. and N.Z.
1933L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch) 23 Sept. 13/7 Cadet, a young man working on a station to learn sheep⁓farming..often worked ‘on even terms’ but is now usually paid a low wage. 1941Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 27 Even Terms, working for one's food.
11. That is a just mean between extremes; of proper magnitude or degree.
c1386Chaucer Prol. 83 Of his stature he was of evene lengthe. c1470Henry Wallace vi. 70 Be ewyn tyme off hyr age, A squier Schaw..hyr gat in mariage. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 80 b, There must be an even temperature amongest these extreamities. 1653Urquhart Rabelais i. xxxiv, The rest of his traine came after him by even journeys [Fr. a justes journées] at a slower pace.
12. Of conduct, laws, and their administration: Equal towards all, just, impartial. † Also of weights and measures: Just, true.
c1000ælfric Lev. xix. 36 Habbaþ..emne wæᵹa and emne ᵹemetu and sestras. 1382Wyclif Lev. xix. 46 Riȝt balaunce, and euen ben the weiȝtis, ryȝt bushel, and euen sextarye. 1637Earl Stirling Doomsday, 6th Hour, Yet were their aimes and ends in th'end not eaven. 1719W. Wood Surv. Trade 17 The wisdom of the legislative Power consists in keeping an even hand to promote all. 1775Johnson Tax no Tyr. 33 Though power has been diffused with the most even hand.
†13.
a. Equal in rank, dignity, or power; in earlier use with dat. or with til, to; also absol. Obs.
c1205Lay. 22928 At þine borde..scal þe hehȝe beon æfne [c 1275 efne] þan loȝe. a1240Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 209 Þe oli goste · þet is efne wið þe and wið þin eadi feder. a1340Hampole Psalter ii. 7 Þe son is of his fadire..euen til hym in godhed. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 341 Sum men seien þat he [the pope] is even wiþ the manheed of Crist. c1400Apol. Loll. 85 We awe not to arett..þingis formid of mannis craft, heyar nor euen to man in kynd. a1450–1530Myrr. our Ladye 103 These thre persones . were alyke euen in all thynges. 1565Jewel Repl. Harding (1611) 333 The Figure may not be far off from the Truth: otherwise it were no Figure: Neither may it be euen, and one with the Truth. 1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 117 Nevertheless, we may hold such a body to be even with another. 1720Prior For my Tombstone, To me 'twas given to die: To thee 'tis given to live: alas one moment sets us even. 1754Richardson Grandison I. xxxix. 297 Is there no way to be even with him in any one thing?
b. to be even with: to be on a par, on equal terms with.
1593Nashe Four Lett. Confut. 86 You wil..imbrace anie religion which will be euen with the profession that fauors not you. 1633Earl of Manchester Al Mondo (1636) 24 For all this, man is even with Death. 1682N. O. Boileau's Lutrin i. 250 We may with both in time be even. 1733Fielding Intrig. Chamberm. i. v, I am not the first gentleman..who has been even with his master.
¶c. The Combs. of even- are sometimes resolved, so that the adj. in apparent syntactical concord expresses the sense of L. co-, Eng. fellow-, joint-.
a1000Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 214 Coheres, efn yrfeweard. 1382Wyclif Ezek. vii. 16 Thei shulen be in mounteyns as culueres of euyn valeys [Vulg. convallium]. 1482Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 103 He..schalle be an euyn heyre with me eternaly. 1483Cath. Angl. 118 Euen, equus, co-, equalis.
14. a. Equal in magnitude, number, quantity, etc. even break: see break n.1 18; even chance: an equal chance that something will or will not happen; even money: odds in betting that offer the gambler the chance of winning as much as he has staked; also n. pl. evens.
c1205Lay. 29103 He hafde genge efne wið Gurmunde. Ibid. 30835 For his æfne wiht of golde. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 325 Whan þe day and þe nyȝt beeþ euen. c1420Pallad. on Husb. i. 1121 Hardde pitche, and wex, take even weight. c1449Pecock Repr. iii. i. 280 The north schal be eendid by euen terme. c1450Castle Hd. Life St. Cuthb. (Surtees) 931 With' childre of his euen elde. 1495Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 39 The seid Edmond to pay yerely..CCCCli. at the same festis by evyn porcions. 1577B. Googe Heresback's Husb. iii. (1586) 115 The legges and the thies..ought to be even [L. æqualia], straight, and sound. 1660H. Bloome Archit. A c, Three even parts. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xii. v, Partridge..kept even pace with Jones. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles iii. xviii, Were my Monarch's order given, Two shafts should make our number even. 1816Jane Austen Emma II. viii. 149 It was an even chance that Mrs. Churchill were not in health or spirits for going. 1834T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 85 It is wax and caoutchouck even quantities, melted together. 1891N. Gould Double Event xxvii, The book⁓makers were roaring themselves hoarse. ‘Even money Perfection, 3 to 1 Captain Cook.’ 1907Westm. Gaz. 25 June 10/2 Two even-money chances—Troutbeck and the White Knight—won. 1964A. Wykes Gambling ix. 223 The Biarritz system is more for players who find the even-chance systems too slow and too tame. Ibid. 225 The noir is an even-money bet.
b. of even date: of the same date. (Common in U.S.; in England chiefly in legal language.)
1681Indenture 10 Mar., Reciting an Indenture of even date therewith. 1885Weekly Notes 142/1 By deed of even date he covenanted to pay all calls in respect of the shares.
c. absol. (See quot.)
1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xix. (Arb.) 222 Ye haue another figure [marg. Parison] which we may call the figure of euen, because it goeth by clauses of egall quantitie.
d. even Stephen (or Steven): a colloq. rhyming phrase used as an intensive for ‘even’ in various senses; spec. = fifty-fifty adv. and a.
[1711Swift Jrnl. to Stella 20 Jan. (1948) I. xiv. 171 Now we are even, quoth Stephen, when he gave his wife six blows for one.] 1866C. H. Smith Bill Arp 64 Dick says you allowed the members to exchange two hundred dollars for two hundred dollars of State money, even steven. 1925Wodehouse Sam the Sudden xiii. 96 Do you mean to say..that if Soapy was sitting in with the Archbishop of Canterbury on a plan for skinning a sucker the archbish wouldn't split Even Stephen? 1939C. Morley Kitty Foyle xxxi. 320 Some of his stories were a bit corny, but a few of Parry Berwyn's old Racquet Club favorites were even-Steven with his. 1955R. Bradbury October Country (1956) 80 It's a fifty-fifty fight. Even Stephen. 1963A. Prior Z Cars Again (1964) xi. 95 It's even-Steven we'll catch him at it. 1970A. Draper Swansong for Rare Bird i. 10 It's even stevens I'll con my way out of it with no more than a big helping of porridge. Ibid. v. 32 He used to break even stephen though by helping himself from her purse.
15. a. Of numbers: Divisible integrally into two equal parts; opposed to odd. Of a dance: Performed by an equal number of persons.
1557Recorde Whetst. A iij, Euen nombers are those, whiche maie be diuided into equalle halfes. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 138 b, He woulde your number should rather be odde then even. 1586W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 84 Then the daunce wyll be eune. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 41 Death we feare That makes these oddes, all euen. 1650Jer. Taylor Holy Living (J.), Let him tell me whether the number of the stars be even or odd. 1674Playford Skill Mus. ii. 103 An even number of Quavers or Semiquavers, as 2, 4, 6, or 8. 1759Johnson Rasselas xlvii, The same number cannot be even and odd. 1801Strutt Sports & Past. (1876) 414 The army that presents a front of even numbers is called even hoste. a1839Praed Poems (1864) II. 171 Death looks down with nods and smiles, And make the odds all even. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 407 Three is an odd number and four is an even number.
b. Of objects in a series: Having a place marked by an even number. even page: the left-hand page of a printed book.
1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iv. v. 193 The laterall division of man by even and odde, ascribing the odde unto the right side, and even unto the left. 1684Earl of Roscommon Ess. Verse (1709) 229 Accents regularly plac'd On even Syllables. 1824L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 374 The accents are to be placed on even syllables.
c. † even and odd: all included, without exception. † for even or odd: for good and all. † for odd nor for even: on no account whatever. evenly even, oddly even (see quots.).
c1440Boctus in Laud MS. 559. 10 b, He shulde..foryeven hym even and odde That he hadde doone. c1450Castle Hd. Life St. Cuthb. (Surtees) 4957 All' ȝone oste, bathe euen and od. c1460Towneley Myst. 170, I have sene the lamb of God..And towchid hym for even or od. c1485E. Eng. Misc. (Warton Club) 42 Loke thou lete, for oode ne for ewyne. 1557Recorde Whetst. A iij b, Euen nombers euenly, are such nombers as maie bee parted continually into euen halfes, till you come to an vnitie. As for example, 32. 1676tr. Agrippa's Van. Arts xii, Arithmetic treats of Numbers..which is evenly odde, and which odly even. 1796Hutton Math. Dict. I. 450/1 Evenly Even Number, is that which an even number measures by an even number; as 16, which the number 8 measures by the even number 2.
†d. even and (or) odd: a game of chance; = odd or even (see odd). Hence to go even or odd. Obs.
1580Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Per ou nom per..a play called euen or odde. 1598Florio, Pari dispari, euen and odde, a kinde of play so called. 1681W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. (1693) 551 To play at even or odd. 1710Brit. Apollo III. No. 5. 2/2 A...Challenges B. to go even or odd with him for a..Sum of Money. 1739Cibber Apol. (1756) I. 16 Socrates cou'd take pleasure..in playing at Even or odd with his children.
16. Of sums of money, numbers, etc.: ‘Round’, expressible in integers, or in tens, scores, etc.; containing no fractions or ‘odd’ money.
1638Penkethman Artach. C ij b, Beginning with an odde 6d. and ending with an even shillings. 1720Lond. Gaz. No. 5877/3 That..no Stock be allowed but in even 5l. Mod. Of the price of bread, etc. Down again to even money.
17.
†a. absol. in adverbial phrases: OE. on efn, on emn (see anent); ME. an emne, an evene, equally, quietly. to bring til even: to reconcile. Obs.
Beowulf 5798 Him on efn liᵹeþ ealdor-ᵹewinna. a1000Byrhtnoth 184 (Gr.), Þa on emn hyra frean feorh ᵹesealdon. c1000ælfric Gen. xvi. 12 He ᵹewislice arærð æfre his ᵹeteld on emne his ᵹebroþra. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9567 King steuene Vor lute poer & feblesse huld him al an euene. c1315Shoreham 75 Ȝyf bothe beth of god wylle, And of assent an emne. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 134 Þan wer boþe þe kynges brouht alle tille euen.
b. quasi-n. in various uses. † Of a person: One's like or equal. † the even of it: the plain truth, ‘the long and short of it’. Sporting, something expressed in integers; in evens: of a hundred-yard run, done in ten seconds.
1393Gower Conf. II. 240 Of beaute sigh he never her even. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, ii. i. 128 The King hath run bad humours on the Knight, that's the euen of it. 1889Boy's Own Paper 14 Sept. 794/2 All the amateur records are ‘evens.’ 1920Baily's Mag. May 238 He ran the hundred in ‘evens’ in 1904. 1955Times 23 July 2/7 The Mill Hill schoolboy..rarely, if ever, fails to do the 100 yards in evens.
18. Combined in phrases with hand. † at (of) even hand: on equal terms; also, without either gain or loss. † to go even hand: to go ‘in equipace’ with. to be even hands with: (Sc.) = ‘to be even with’: see 10.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 363 The Muses..never flit, but followe thee, or rather, goe even hande with thee, and treade foote by foote? 1625Bacon Ess., Envy (Arb.) 512 Who so is out of Hope to attaine to anothers Vertue, will seeke to come at euen hand, by Depressing an others Fortune. 1650R. Gentilis Consid. Alcibiades 33 He contents not himselfe to come out of trouble at even hand, by onely remaining comforted. 1756W. Toldervy Two Orphans I. 38 Certainly, if a man will keep but of even hand, his ordinary expences ought to be but to the half of his receipts. 1822Hogg Perils Man I. 325 (Jam.), I's be even hands wi' them an' mair.
▪ III. even, adv.|ˈiːv(ə)n|
Forms: 1–2 efne, emne, 3–5 evene, 4–7 evin, -yn(e, 4–5 eeven, (4 ewyn, 5 evon, -un, ewene, eyven, hevene), 4– even. Also contracted 6–7 ene, 6–9 een, e'en, ev'n.
[c gray][OE. efne, by assimilation emne, efen, = OFris. efne, ivin, OS. efno (Du. even), OHG. ebano (MHG. ebene, Ger. eben):—OTeut. *eƀnô, f. *eƀno- even a. (In literary use the contracted form e'en (iːn[/c]) now occurs only in verse, and in colloq. use it is rare exc. north. dial.)
The mod.Teut. langs. (exc. Scandinavian) have developed senses similar to those in branch II.]
I. In senses closely related to the adj. (Chiefly admitting of degrees of comparison.)
†1. Evenly, in an even manner; regularly, steadily, uniformly. Obs.
a1000ælfric Ps cxviii. [cxix.] 77 (Gr.) Ic æ þine efnast healde. a1250Owl & Night. 313 Ich singe efne Mid fulle dreme and lude stefne. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 43 So euene hot þat lond ys, þat men durre selde Here orf in howse awynter brynge out of the felde. a1310in Wright Lyric P. ix. 35 Hire teht aren white ase bon of whal, Evene set ant atled al. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints Prol. 47 Demaying hire in althing ewine. c1400Destr. Troy 436 Mony proude rynges, Euyn set to þe sight. 1458MS. Christ's Hosp. Abingdon in Turner Dom. Archit. III. 44 Now God geve us grace to folowe treuthe even. 1728T. Sheridan Persius i. (1739) 17 That Poet of ours makes his Verses run as even as a Carpenter can draw his Line.
†2. In exact agreement. to go even (= Fr. marcher d'accord): to agree (with). Obs.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 126 Henry and he euen acorded or þei went. a1569A. Kingsmill Comf. Afflict. (1585) A vij, Behold how good a thing it is..for brethren to dwell even together. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. v. i. 246 As the rest goes euen. 1611― Cymb. i. iv. 47, I..rather shun'd to go euen with what I heard. 1645Fuller Good Th. in Bad T. (1841) 39 Both are for the privileges of parliament; can they come closer? Both are for the liberty of the subject; can they meet evener?
†3. Equally.
a. In equal divisions or parts.
b. In an equal degree. Also as quasi-prep. with dat.: Equally with.
c. On equal terms. Obs.
a.c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §13 Sio sunne and se mona habbaþ todæled butwuht him þone dæᵹ and þa niht swiþe emne. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 51 Þe barons portiond þe lond euen þam bituene. 1393Gower Conf. II. 46 Copes riche..Departed even of white and blewe. c1420Sir Amadace (Camd.) lix, Take and dele hit Euun in toe.
b.c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 310 Wheþer alle þese ordris ben euene goode. c1380Sir Ferumb. 2946 Þat ech of ous..do al þat a may, To helpe ys felawe euene him-selue; among our fon to day. c1449Pecock Repr. iii. vi. 313 In the same euen miche pouerte..folewe in euen likenes. c1450Castle Hd. Life St. Cuthb. (Surtees) 4066 Edylwald was a man expert, Euen gyuen to god with cuthbert. c1485E. Eng. Misc. (Warton Club) 85 Alle in ewene warme water.
c.1470–85Malory Arthur x. xlv, Neuer were there foure knyghtes euener matched. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 128 b, Be well assured that you bye them [draught oxen] even matched.
†4. In a just or proper degree. Obs.
c1430Two Cookery-bks. 12 Let boyle tylle the Onyonys an þe Brawn ben euyne sothyn, an nowt to moche. Ibid. 14 Take þe sylf brothe..Make it euen Salt.
†5. Directly, straight; also of descent: In a direct line. Obs. See also even-down.
a1300Cursor M. 3105 (Cott.) It brend, þe reke raght vp euen. c1340Ibid. 3106 (Fairf.) Þe smelle was squete and stode ful eyuen. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 61 Ony male, [That were in lyne] ewyn descendand. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 334 He lediþ his soule eeuen to heuen by goddis lawe. c1435Torr. Portugal 2281 Into a lond bothe riche and good, ffulle evyn he toke the way. 1486Bk. St. Albans E vij b, Ayen the Water his Way eeuen iff he hent.
†b. ‘Due’ (east, etc.); directly (contrary, etc.).
c1300St. Brandan 515 Hi wende evene south. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiii. 149 Beȝond þir ilez..to ga euen est, es na land inhabited. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxxv. 257 The wind was euen contrary vnto him. 1483Cath. Angl. 118 Evyn agayn. a1550Freiris of Berwik 344 In the west he turnit him ewin about.
II. In weakened senses as an intensive or emphatic particle. (With 6–8 cf. similar uses of just.)
6. Exactly, precisely, ‘just’. Now chiefly arch. after Bible use, and suggesting some notion of 9.
a. of manner; often followed by as, thus, so.
Beowulf 1571 Lixte se leoma efne swa of heofene hadre scineð rodores candel. a1000Crist 330 (Gr.), And efne swa ðec ᵹemette meahtum ᵹehrodene clæne and ᵹecorene Crist almihtiᵹ. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 4767 Þe thred day, þe se sal..And stand even in..Als it stode first. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xi. xiii. (1495) 398 Thonder smythth the ayre..euyn soo that it..sownyth..in the manere of rollyng and hurlynge of whelys. c1400Destr. Troy 1633 Priam by purpos a pales gert make..And euyn at his etlyng Ylion was cald. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 2 b, Euen so man in the cage of this worlde. 1578Timme Calvin on Gen. 97 Even as if a Man should give a sword and buckler into the hands of another. 1594Shakes. Pass. Pilgr. xi, Even thus..the warlike god embraced me. 1611Bible John xvii. 18 Euen so haue I also sent them into the world. 1808R. K. Porter Trav. Sk. Russ. & Swed. (1813) i. i. 6 It was even as Saxo Grammaticus relates. 1816Scott Old Mort. Introd., ‘Even sae—even sae.’
b. of time: occas. quasi-prep. = at the same moment with. Often with now (see further under now, and cf. enow). † Formerly also absol. = ‘just now’, ‘just then’ (cf. just and Ger. eben).
c1205Lay. 25939 Efne [c 1275 eafne] þissen worden þa þat wif seide, Beduer heo gon hirten. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 535 Euene as the ssire sat, [Sir Maci] to the toune's ende him drou. c1325Poem temp. Edw. II (Percy) lxxv, Euen upon the Monday. c1400Destr. Troy 1980 He..Shoke euyn into ship, & the shalke leuyt. 1413Lydg. Pilgr. Sowle v. xiv. (1859) 81 And euen with this word this Angel flewe his weye vp in to heuene. 15..Merch. & Son 230 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 148 Ryght evyn abowte mydnyght. c1600Shakes. Sonn. lxxi, Let your love even with my life decay. 1611― Cymb. iii. vi. 16 Euen before, I was At point to sinke, for Food. 1607Hieron Wks. I. 399 The high priest will holde a councell, euen the dawning. 1612R. Sheldon Serm. St. Martin's 48 Our most gratious Soueraigne being almost euen with the breaking vp of her [Q. Elizabeth's] ghost most ioyfully in this city proclaimed. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 30 These Shanks are to be rivetted (as you were taught even now). 1820Keats St. Agnes xxxv, But even now Thy voice was at sweet tremble in mine ear.
†c. of place. Also absol. = close at hand (cf. Ger. n-eben). Obs.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 5179 Even aboven þat vale namly, Whare al men sal se his body. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 152 Ho so is hurt in þe hand, euene in þe myddes, He, etc. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iii. 73 Of the other side it [the castell] had evyn at hande a grete wood. 1578Whetstone Promos & Cass. ii. ii. 2 Ap. Where dwels Lady Lamia? Ros. Even by, Syr.
†d. of shape. Obs.
c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 43 Þare was a table of gold, euen sqware. c1400Destr. Troy 1635 A clene wall clustrit with towres, Euyn round as a ryng richely wroght.
7. Quite, fully. Formerly often before numerals; now only arch. in even to (= L. usque ad), in which use it suggests some notion of sense 9.
c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xli. 300 Crist..hiene selfne ᵹeeaðmedde emne oð ðone deað. a1000Cædmon's Gen. 1158 (Gr.) Cainan wintra hæfde efne hund-seofontiᵹ ær him sunu woce. c1205Lay. 13924 He heom wes leof æfne al swa heore lif. c1325Chron. Eng. 938 in Ritson Metr. Rom. II. 309 He reignede her Evene five ant thritti yer. 1546Wyclif's Wycket 1, In greate sufferance of persecution euen to the death. 1611Bible Ex. xxvii. 5 That the net may bee euen to the midst of the Altar. 1646F. Hawkins Youths Behav. (1663) 4 Nor is it beseeming to stoop so low as even to crowching. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xlvi. 180 Carried at the mercy of the Sea even until Sun-set. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 586 His magnetic beam..Shoots invisible vertue even to the deep.
8. Prefixed to a subject, object, or predicate, or to the expression of a qualifying circumstance, to emphasize its identity. Obs. exc. arch. Also in 16–17th c. (hence still arch. after Bible use) serving to introduce an epexegesis; = ‘namely’, ‘that is to say’.
a1000Guthlac 946 Domes hleotan, Efne þæs ilcan, þe ussa yldran fyrn Frecne onfengon. a1000Met. Boeth. viii. 46 Efne sio ᵹitsung. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xii. 306, I shall smyte of your hede, evyn anone. 1535Coverdale 2 Chron. vii. 22 Euen because they haue forsaken the Lorde God of their fathers. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. ii. i. 49 Speed. She that you gaze on so... Val. Even she I meane. 1594Hooker Eccl. Pol. Pref. iii. §9 They imagined they even beheld as it were with their eyes. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. v. i. 242, I sweare to thee, euen by thine owne faire eyes. 1610― Temp. iii. i. 14 These sweet thoughts, doe euen refresh my labours. 1611Bible Zech. xi. 10, I took my staff, euen Beauty, and cut it asunder. Ibid. John viii. 25 Euen the same that I said vnto you from the beginning. 1820Keats St. Agnes xvii, I will, even in a moment's space, Awake..my foemen's ears.
b. (Chiefly in colloq. form e'en.) Prefixed to verbs, with vague force expressible by ‘just’, ‘nothing else but’; in early use sometimes with notion of ‘to be sure’, ‘forsooth’ (L. scilicet). Now arch. and dial.
a1553Udall Royster D. iii. iv. (Arb.) 52 If she despise you een despise ye hir againe. 1653Walton Angler 125 Come, now bait your hook again..and we wil ev'n retire to the Sycamore tree. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. iii. §8 The beastly Monk..had e'ne learned as far as Virgil's æneids, whence he fetched the Platform of this pretty Conceit. 1686P. Henry Diaries & Lett. (1882) 353, I can buy them here for 2s. 10d., which is e'en cheap enough. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. x. 172, I e'en let him out. 1741Richardson Pamela I. 178 E'en send to him to come down. 1802Bentham Let. Wks. 1843 X. 384 As to the intrigue about the Institute, since it is begun, e'en let it take its course. 1821Mrs. Wheeler Westmorl. Dial. 26 Ise ean gang with yee.
9. Intimating that the sentence expresses an extreme case of a more general proposition implied (= Fr. même). Prefixed (in later use often parenthetically postfixed) to the particular word, phrase, or clause, on which the extreme character of the statement or supposition depends.
This use, now the prevailing one in Eng., is foreign to the other Teut. langs. It is rare in purely dialectal speech, and (though a natural development of 8) seems not to have arisen before the 16th c. Cotgrave 1611 does not give even among the equivalents of Fr. mesme. The phrase not even (= L. ne..quidem) is rare in early use; Cooper Lat. Dict. 1572 renders ne in publicis quidem by ‘no, not in common affaires’ (though for ne nunc quidem he has ‘no, not euen now’: see 6 b); Walker Dict. Particles 1673 renders ne..quidem only by ‘no, not so much as’; the earliest Lat. Dict. that gives ‘no, not even’ is app. Ainsworth 1736.
a. Attached to the subj., agent, or object.
1607Shakes. Timon i. i. 82 Make sacred euen his styrrop. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. iii. 209 In Warre, even the Conqueror is commonly a loser. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 418 Ev'n the fearful Stag dares for his Hind engage. 1747Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 117 This quickly heals even cut veins and Sinews. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. x. 82 Even this stupid gardener..is as useful to society as I am. 1821Keats Lamia 34 Jealousies Of the Wood-gods, and even the very trees. 1854Doran Habits & Men 176 He was in debt to no man, not even to his tailor. 1863F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia 11 The tone of insolent superiority assumed by even the gutter urchins. 1884W. C. Smith Kildrostan 88 A harp, even, blunts the finger-tips.
b. Attached to a word or clause expressing time, manner, place, or any attendant circumstance.
1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 36 The leafe..turneth with the Sunne, whereby it sheweth to the husbande, even in cloudie weather, what time of the day it is. 1611E. Grimstone tr. De Serres' Hist. France 257 Fortune is a secret operation of the wisdome of God, alwaies iust, euen when it is most vnknown to vs. 1736Butler Anal. i. i, A method of providential conduct, the like of which has been exercised even with regard to ourselves. 1782Gibbon Decl. & F. I. xiii. (1828) 491 Even on that memorable occasion his stay did not exceed two months. 1818Hallam Middle Ages ix. (1869) 636 Even in Italy..the domestic architecture of the middle ages did not attain any great perfection. 1881Bible (Revised) Mark xiv. 59 And not even so [1611 But neither so] did their witness agree together.
c. Attached to a hypothetical clause.
1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 594 Ev'n though a snowy Ram thou shalt behold, Prefer him not in haste, for Husband to thy Fold. 1791Sheridan Pizarro iii. iii, Even though that moment lost your Elvira for ever. 1824Scott St. Ronan's xxviii, For such evil bruits Mr. Touchwood cared not, even if he happened to hear of them. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 175 Even if the king had been desirous to fulfil the promises which he had made to the Presbyterians. 1865Lubbock Preh. Times 323 Even if the embankment had remained intact to this day. 1873F. Hall Mod. English 36 Even suppose that these solecisms were collected. Mod. Even were there no other evidence, we should still be justified in assuming, etc.
d. Attached to the predicate (or any of its adjuncts), to emphasize the full extent of the statement (whether affirmative or negative).
1728R. Morris Ess. Anc. Archit. 17 Such as these never arise even to the universal Knowledge of Order. 1779Hervey Nav. Hist. II. 335 These [conditions] the parliament disliked and even signified a disinclination to ratify. 1841Dickens Old C. Shop xlii, He maintained a strict reserve, and even shunned her presence. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 111 Nor had they ever..found England an agreeable, or even a safe, residence.
e. Emphasizing a comparative; ‘still’, ‘yet’.
173.Butler Serm. xi, It will even more strongly be taken for granted that, etc. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. i, The vanity and the satisfaction of my wife were even greater than mine. 1854A. Jameson Bk. of Th. (1877) 29 This advice is even more applicable to the painter.
▪ IV. even, v.|ˈiːv(ə)n|
Forms: 1 efnan, 2–3 efnen, (3 effnen), 3–4 evene(n, -yn, (4 emni, 6 evin), 6–7 eeven, 8 eaven, 4– even.
[OE. efnan, also ᵹe-efn(i)an, f. efen, even a. Cf. OHG. ebanôn (Ger. ebenen), ON. iafna, Goth. ga-ibnjan.
The OE. ęfnan, æfnan, to accomplish, achieve, corresponding to ON. efna of same meaning, is wholly unconnected.]
I. To make even, level, or straight.
1. trans.
a. To level (ground); to level, render plane or smooth (any surface); also fig.
†b. To bring up or restore to a level, or to a straight line.
c. to even out: to dispose evenly into; also, to make even or level.
d. To fit (one thing) to (another).
a.c1200Ormin 9207 All þatt ohht iss wrang & crumb Shall effnedd beon & rihhtedd. 1382Wyclif Isa. xxviii. 25 Whan he shal euenen therto his [the erthes] face, he shal sowe the sed gith. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. (MS. A.) 127 Whanne þou hast removed of þe boon þat schal be removed evene þe brynkis with schavynge. c1420Pallad. on Husb. vi. 39 And even the erthe above. 1581Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 54 Law, whose end is, to euen and right all things. 1662Merrett tr. Neri's Art of Glass 364 Scissers cut the Glass, and even it. 1686W. Aglionby Painting Illust. i. 28 Upon a dry Wall, having first Evened it. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 118 The Line and Rake for eavening and smoothing the Ground. 1750tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 145 When the face of it is evened, it reflects images like a looking-glass. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 309 The Good Shepherd..smoothed for them all rugged places, and evened them by His own steps. 1864E. Burritt Lond. to John O' Groat's 318 The tailor's shears, the mason's trowel, and the carpenter's edge, tools are evening everything in Christendom to one dead level of uniformity.
b.1382Wyclif 1 Kings xi. 27 Salomon beeldide Mello, and euenede the swelwȝ of the citee of Dauid. c1440Promp. Parv. 143 Evenyn, or make evyn. 1688Capt. J. S. Art of War 6 Even your Ranks, straiten your Files. a1705Evelyn (J.), Beat, roll, and mow carpet-walks..for now the ground is supple, and it will even all inequalities. 1849Sidonia Sorc. II. 290 The Prussian government..desired the foundation to be evened, for it had sank in various places.
c.1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 2 Those things that right reason..had evened out into ranks and kindreds by themselves, have been unhappily hudled and broken. 1931Economist 18 July 127/2 Company practice may rightly go beyond the mere creation of secret reserves, and cover their employment to ‘even out’ fluctuations in earning power. 1962A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio v. 102 Volumes have to be controlled; they have to be evened out and held back.
d.1530Palsgr. 540/2 Even this lynyng to my gowne. 1659Hammond On Ps. xviii. 33 Annot. 102 Evening or fitting [lit. tr. Heb. meshavvēh] my feet he makes them nimble.
†2.
a. To level to, with (the ground, etc.). In OE. example: To throw (a person) down. Obs.
a1000Riddles xxviii. (Gr.), Ic..efne to eorðan hwilum ealdne ceorl. 1382Wyclif Jer. i. 12 Confoundid is ȝoure moder ful myche, and euened to pouder. 1559Sackville Mirr. Mag. Induct. lxii, Walls and towers flat evened with the soyle. 1591Raleigh Last Fight Rev. (Arb.) 21 Her vpper worke [was] rased, and..euened shee was with the water. 1632Heywood 2nd Pt. Iron Age iii. Wks. 1874 III. 393 Sees..The stately walls he reard, leuel'd and euen'd.
†b. To bring down to a specified level. Obs. exc. dial.
1636Rutherford Lett. No. 70 (1862) I. 183 He wd not even you to a gift of dirt and clay. 1650H. Brooke Conserv. Health H v, Evened my words to the meanest capacity. 1741Richardson Pamela I. 84 You do well, Sir, said I, to even your Wit to such a poor Maiden as me. 1880Antrim & Down Gloss. s.v., I wouldn't even my wit to you.
†3. To make (a balance) even. Obs.
a1618Raleigh Prerog. Parl. Ep. A iij b, The point of honour well weighed hath nothing in it to euen the ballance. 1638Chillingw. Relig. Prot. iii. §86 Even the ballance, and hold it even. a1718Penn in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. I. 421 Prudence and proportion will more than even the scale.
4. a. To make (accounts, etc.) even; to balance, settle, square; to come to agreement upon (points of difference).
1536Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) II. 65 Foure prudent men wer chosin, on ilk side, to evin all debatis betwix thame. 1619Sir R. Boyle in Lismore Papers (1886) I. 215 By my payment Mr. Dalton and I have evened all accompts. 1664Pepys Diary (1879) III. 11 He hath now evened his reckonings at the Wardrobe till Michaelmas last. 1719W. Wood Surv. Trade 90 The goods we send to that Country are by no means sufficient to even the account between us. 1745De Foe's Eng. Tradesman (1841) II. xlii. 141 He has evened all his differences. 1856Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh viii. (1882) 349 To sorrow for mankind And even their odds. 1947T. Maynard Humanist as Hero xiii. 158 He now had a wonderful chance to even old scores.
absol.1667Pepys Diary 13 Oct., Evened with W. Hewer for my expenses upon the road.
b. to even up: to compensate exactly. Also, to make even or equal; to balance.
1865Bushnell Vicar. Sacr. Introd. 16 They take..what he [Anselm] says of justice as if He [Christ] were engaged to even up the score of penalty. 1898Westm. Gaz. 28 Feb. 7/1 So this morning a big collapse was provided to even things up. Ibid. 1 Nov. 9/1 When they return to-morrow it is quite possible that those who sold yesterday in order to even up their books may be again purchasers. 1908Daily Chron. 9 Mar. 3/3 But all things are evened up in every age. 1958R. Williams Culture & Society iii. 307 The result of the new educational provision was in part..an evening-up between the fortunate places and the unfortunate.
†c. To make (a person) ‘even’ or quits with another. Obs.
1604Shakes. Oth. ii. i. 308 Nothing..shall content my Soule Till I am eeuen'd with him.
†d. To bring into accord, reconcile. Obs.
1620Horæ Subseciuæ 142 To euen and compound them [factions] in mutuall amity and agreement.
5.
†a. To make equal. Obs. rare.
a1225Ancr. R. 182 Sicknesse þet God sent..efneð þene þolemode to martir. 1553N. Grimalde Cicero's Offices 2 a, That diligently you read not onely my Orations, but these Bookes also of Philosophy, which now well nigh to those have euened themselues in quantitie.
b. To treat or represent as equal; to put on the same level; refl. to pretend to equality. Const. to, with (in ME. ȝæn). Also absol. rare in mod. use exc. Sc.
c1200Ormin 1396 Enngless..wolldenn effnenn hemm ȝæn Godd. Ibid. 15979 For þatt teȝȝ Haliȝ Gastess mahht Effnenn wiþ þerþlic ahhte. 1340Ayenb. 16 Liȝtbere..wolde by above þe oþre angeles, and him wolde emni to God. 1382Wyclif Isa. xlvi. 5 To whom licneden ȝee me, and eueneden and comparisounden me. a1605Montgomerie Sonn. lxii, I think it scorne..To euin an ape with aufull Alexander. 1815Scott Guy M. xi, They never thought..of evening themselves to the Ellangowans. 1824― Redgauntlet let. xii, ‘Me and Miss Lilias even'd thegither! Na, na, lad—od, she is..four or five years younger.’ 1830Galt Laurie T. vi. i. (1849) 254 The idea of me evening myself in sincerity to their mother. 1881Sat. Rev. No. 1323. 301 We disclaim the slightest idea of evening the two poets, which would be simply absurd. 1887Saintsbury Eliz. Lit. 201 A touch of pathos, again to be evened only to Shakespere's.
c. Sc. ‘To talk of one person as a match for another in marriage’ (Jam.).
1823Lockhart Reg. Dalton III. 119 (Jam.), ‘Would ony Christian even yon bit object to a bonny, sonsy, weel-faurd young woman like Miss Catline?’
d. dial. To treat as appropriate to (a person's character); chiefly in bad sense, to impute to.
1845A. M. Hall Whiteboy I. iv. 58 It's long since I heard such a thing as that [having a nice cottage and some fields] evened to a poor man. 1853Reade Chr. Johnstone 261 ‘How daur ye even to me, that I'm seeking a lad?’ 1880Antrim & Down Gloss. s.v., Would you even the like of that to me. 1884Illust. Lond. News 2 Feb. 114/3 I'd have knocked any one down that had evened Such a thing to you in my hearing.
6. To liken, compare. Obs. exc. dial.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. vii. 24 Ȝeefned biþ. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 161 Ðis woreldes biwest is efned to wastene. a1225Ancr. R. 132 Auh þe treowe ancren we efneð to briddes. c1290Lives Saints (1887) 62 For ore louerd euenede him-sulf to a lomb. 1860Reade Cloister & H. IV. 258 Would ye even a beast to a man? 1863C. J. Atkinson Provinc. Danby, Even, to compare, to liken.
II. To be or become even.
†7. intr.
a. To be equal or comparable. Const. to, with. Obs.
c1230Hali Meid. 19 Hare weden ne mahen euenen to hare. a1240Sawles Warde in Cott. Hom. 251 Helle is..ful of brune uneuenlich, for ne mei nan eorðlich fur euenin þer towart. c1325E.E. Allit. P. A. 1072 What schulde þe mone þer compas clym..to euen wyth þat worþly lyȝt.
†b. To tally, agree with; also, to be in line with. Obs.
1602Carew Cornwall (J.), A redoubled numbering never eveneth with the first. 1663Pepys Diary 22 June, To Westminster, where all along I find the shops evening with the sides of the houses.
8. a. trans. To come up to, equal. rare.
1583Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 58 A toure..that in altitud euened Thee stars. 1607Topsell Serpents (1653) 647 In bignesse he [the Drone] eveneth, yea, surpasseth the King himself. 1639Fuller Holy War 192 The English Earl..conceived himself to even him in valour and martiall knowledge. 1886Burton Arab. Nts. (Abr. ed.) I. 177 A daughter who eveneth thee in beauty.
†b. To act up to, keep pace with. Obs. rare—1.
1611Shakes. Cymb. iii. iv. 184 Wee'l euen All that good time will giue vs.
9. to even out: to become even or normal.
1950A. L. Rowse England of Elizabeth v. 158 Things were beginning to even out a little.
Hence ˈevened ppl. a.
1847Bushnell Chr. Nurt. ii. iii. (1861) 275 In the molds of a perfectly evened judgement. |