nevern.
/ˈnɛvə/, U.S. /ˈnɛvər/ 1. In various ad hoc uses (frequently poetic): an instance or occurrence of the word ‘never’; something which exemplifies the idea expressed by the word; a time which never happened.
ΚΠ
a1868 C. Harpur Poet. Wks. (1984) 143 (title) The ‘nevers’ of poetry.
1935 E. E. Cummings No Thanks xlix Falling through touchless stillness (seized Among what ghostly nevers of again).
1944 E. E. Cummings 1 x 1 xxi Plunged in eternal now if who're By the five nevers of a lear.
1957 Shakespeare Q. 8 318 The Folio..adds two ‘nevers’ to complete that perfect line [in King Lear].
1990 P. Scupham Watching Perseids 5 How good of me then to come for the last time, And share in those happy nevers we must have had.
2. colloquial. on the never: (a) Australian at no cost to oneself; in an exploitative manner; (b) chiefly British = on the never-never at never-never n. 2a.
ΚΠ
1882 Sydney Slang Dict. 6 On the Never, to take advantage of, to best.
1891 Bulletin (Sydney) 19 Apr. 7/3 You and your boy: had your chuck for two days on the never!
1930 J. Brophy & E. Partridge Songs & Slang Brit. Soldier: 1914–1918 145 To get anything on the never was to get it without the proper payment, either by credit or by wangling.
1955 N. Pulliam I traveled Lonely Land 383 On the never, making the most of, taking advantage of.
1967 M. Procter Exercise Hoodwink iii. 21 ‘I'm getting it on the never. Anybody can do that.’ ‘Not a new Rover.’
3. Nautical slang. to do a never: to shirk or loaf.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from action [verb (intransitive)] > avoid > avoid duty, work, or exertion
feignc1300
lurk1551
slug1642
skulk1781
malinger1820
mike1838
shirk1853
slinker1880
scrimshank1882
pike1889
scow1901
spruce1916
to swing the lead1917
bludge1919
to dodge the column1919
skive1919
to screw off1943
to do a never1946
to fuck off1946
to dick off1948
1946 J. Irving Royal Navalese 121 Never, to do a, to dodge work.
1948 E. Partridge et al. Dict. Forces' Slang 124 Doing a never means—in the Navy—shirking work.
1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 74 Doing a never, loafing on a job.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
neveradv.int.
/ˈnɛvə/, U.S. /ˈnɛvər/ A. adv.
1. At no time or moment; on no occasion; not ever.
a. In general use.Also accompanied by other negatives, esp. †ne, no, or none; since the 17th cent. only nonstandard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > never
neverOE
ne'erc1275
late?a1439
naya1547
Latter Lammas1559
when the devil is blind1645
on (at) the Greek Calendsa1649
Queen Dick1652
tomorrow come never1660
nowhena1767
on Tib's Eve1785
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. vii. 23 Numquam noui uos : næfra [OE Rushw. næfræ] ic cuðe uel oncneawu iuih.
OE Beowulf 247 Næfre ic maran geseah eorla ofer eorþan.
OE Blickling Homilies 39 Þonne ne hingreþ us næfre on ecnesse.
lOE Laws: Gerefa (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 454 Ne læte he næfre his hyrmen hyne oferwealdan.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 1066 He dyde swa mycel..swa nefre nan oðre ne dyde toforen him ne nan æfter him.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) v. 11 Of ðære næfre nan, buta he self wolde, ne wearð adrifen.
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 Sculdest thu neure finden man in tune sittende.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 33 (MED) Ne wot no man hwat blisse is, þe naure wowe ne bod.
a1275 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 9 (MED) Swa sari wmmon neuer neas.
a1300 Passion our Lord 56 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 39 (MED) Swich leche bi-vore hym ne com her neuer non.
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 91 Þou ne myȝt hytte nefere do.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 1532 (MED) He syh..a creature..So foul yit syh he nevere non.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xxvii. 44 Ȝit wolde he neuere to his God Offensse.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 761 I saw never so feawe men do so well.
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. 133 They wolde answere and saye, they trusted that sholde neuer be.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccccxlijv Therfore thought they now, or els neuer, yt God was on theyr side.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. vii. 327 Serpent like,..That bowes the Grasse, but neuer makes no path.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 109 Time is lost, which never will renew. View more context for this quotation
1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera i. viii. 11 Then or never is the time to make her Fortune.
1755 W. Bulkeley Diary Apr. in B. Dew Roberts Mr. Bulkeley & Pirate (1936) ii. iii. 151 A great many other plants..were so shockingly abused and trod that these..I believe will niver grow.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia III. v. vii. 84 Is this lady-like tyranny then never to end?
1803 G. Colman John Bull i. i. 16 Dan. I be head ostler, only we never had no horses nor customers.
1810 S. Green Romance Readers II. xvii. 186 The ease and elegance in which she lived..would ensure him many comforts which he had never known at the farm.
1850 N. Hawthorne Scarlet Let. iii. 81 My child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one!
1872 C. J. Lever Ld. Kilgobbin xxi I certainly shall never be rebuked for my becomingness.
1902 W. S. Maugham Mrs. Craddock xi. 109 He was the best-humoured of men, and Bertha's bad temper never disturbed his equilibrium.
1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 230 I've never been patient to no flaming doctor, and hope I never shall be.
1963 I. Murdoch Unicorn i. iii. 33 I can't make out if there's a Mr Crean-Smith, but he's never mentioned so I assume Mrs is a widow.
1988 Smithsonian Stud. Amer. Art Fall 12/1 Steichen swore to Stieglitz that he would never give up photography.
2001 M. Blake 24 Karat Schmooze xvi. 175 ‘What's your form?’ growled Bill. ‘I ain't never heard of you.’ Here we go again, thought Davey. Two résumés in one day.
b. With addition of limiting word, as after, before, since, yet, etc.
ΚΠ
eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 409 Næfre siþan Romane ne ricsodon on Bretone.
OE Beowulf 583 Breca næfre git..swa deorlice dæd gefremede.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1104 Ealle þe hit gesawon wundredon, forþan hi næfre ær swilce ne gemundon.
c1175 ( in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 52 Mon..næfre æft þæt unriht ne þurhtyhð þe he ær lufode.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2283 Þatt nass næfrær. Biforenn sannte marȝe.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 17 (MED) Þe uttreste [i]s se þiesternesse of helle, ðar næure ȝiete liht ne cam.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 1983 Þa Englisce ouer-comen þe Brutuns & brouhten heom þer neoðere, þat neofer seoððen heo ne arisen.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 8692 (MED) Neuereft afterward..He nolde his clergie bileue.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 144 (MED) Oþer likenes..but a wilde werwolf ne walt he neuer after.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xvi. 216 Widwe with-oute wedloke was neure ȝete yseye.
c1475 (a1400) Awntyrs Arthure (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 15 (MED) Siche glee Seȝhe he neuyr are.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 360 Sayeng þat neuer tofore they herd of suche a thing.
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Chron. (1812) II. 433 She had neuer before ben at Parys.
1585 Abp. E. Sandys Serm. iii. 62 Manasses was neuer reclaimed vntil he was inclosed in prison.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. ix. 336 Neuer did any man as yet see where Nilus taketh his originall.
1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron I. ii. ii. f. 32 Rinaldoes seruant,..giuing his horse the spurres, never left gallowping, vntill hee came to Chasteau Guillaume.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 504 Never since of Serpent kind Lovelier. View more context for this quotation
1697 Cramond Kirk Session IV. 17 Oct. She never minded it untill 8 a clocke on sabbath morning.
1712 E. Budgell Spectator No. 506. ¶12 She has discovered..accomplishments in herself, which she never before once dreamed of.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xv. 51 I never yet found one instance of their existence.
1802 J. West Infidel Father I. 136 Though the sombrous air of melancholy never after left his face.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxiv. 354 I believe the fact was never before observed.
1890 Athenæum 22 Feb. 239/1 The art and science of what may be called acrobatics have never yet received really adequate treatment.
a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) ii. 53 ‘I never answered your question yet,’ she observed.
1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. vi. 277 Never till now, never since this half-second, had Portia been the first to look away.
1964 J. Gould & W. L. Kolb Dict. Social Sci. 481/2 Pacifism has never yet been adopted as official policy by any state.
1992 H. Mitchell One Man's Garden iv. 83 Never before had I seen such a display, and never since.
c.
(a) Emphasized by immediate repetition.
ΚΠ
1593 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia v. f. 241v Let the small remnant of my life, bee to mean inward and outward desolation, and to the world a gazing stock of wretched misery: But neuer neuer, let sacred rightfulnes fall.
1607 B. Barnes Divils Charter i. v Told I not that the murtherer was present? Ah neuer neuer shall I liue to see.
1687 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II (ed. 2) II. vii. 546 They are safe arrived into each others Arms, never, never to be parted more.
1771 J. Beattie Minstrel: Bk. 1st xxxi. 16 From the prayer of Want,..O never, never turn away thine ear.
1809 S. T. Coleridge Friend 12 Oct. 144 To be found..in the Realities of Heaven, but never, never, in Creatures of Flesh and Blood.
1874 A. Trollope Lady Anna I. xvi. 202 She had told him..that she could never, never be his wife.
1995 M. L. Settle Choices ii. i. 99 Melinda heard her yell back, ‘Nevernevernever in this house use those words again.’
(b) Repeated at the end of an utterance, to indicate insistence on the part of the speaker.
ΚΠ
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xxiv. 303 O thou wilt come no more, neuer, neuer, neuer. View more context for this quotation
1777 W. Pitt in J. Almon Anecd. Life W. Pitt (1792) III. xliv. 167 If I were an American..I never would lay down my arms—never—never—never.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxx Both ladies..declaring that they never had seen such a wicked creature in all their born days—never.
1920 D. H. Lawrence Women in Love xiv. 176 I never would go on a pleasure boat again—never.
1998 P. McCabe Breakfast on Pluto (1999) l. 183 Whilst I might have done it in hotel-room privacy with a customer, up until then, would never have, in a million years, in public, never never never!
(c) With ever as postmodifying intensifier. Now colloquial.
ΚΠ
1859 E. R. Charles Three Wakings 95 The light is old, Eternal, never ever new.
1902 J. W. Riley Poems & Prose XII. 151 Its etikett Fer young gentlemens..eatin' when they's company, not to never ever crowd Down their food.
1958 R. A. Knox Lit. Distractions 9 Allan Cunningham..never ever saw a more agitated piece of water than the Solway Firth.
1993 S. Faulks Birdsong 123 You know something? I've never ever been with a woman.
d. With omission of the personal pronoun as subject (and sometimes also of the auxiliary verb to have).
ΚΠ
1827 A. N. Royall Tennessean xxii. 244 Well, well, (resuming his common tone) never thought to see thee lad.
1841 E. Bulwer-Lytton Night & Morning II. ii. ix. 15 Quiet! Lord love you! never heard a noisier little urchin!
1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. vi. 76 Never heard the man's name in my life.
a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) II. ii. 43 ‘Never thought of that before?’ ‘Yes—I've thought of it. But—’ She paused.
1963 ‘J. Prescot’ Case for Hearing vii. 108 Never said a dicky-bird about doing the place myself.
1990 Kalgoorlie (W. Austral.) Miner 7 Mar. 5/6 ‘Who will win the election over your way?’ ‘The Beige Party.’ ‘Never heard of them.’
2.
a. As a simple emphatic negative relating to a single event: not at all, in no way. In later use chiefly with imperatives, and in colloquial use expressing emphatic denial (frequently with the verb omitted).never fear: see fear v. 4c. never (you) mind: see mind v. 5b. never neither: see neither pron. never nother: see nother pron.1 2a.In some cases, esp. (in early use) with verbs of knowing, an element of the temporal sense remains.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > not at all
neverOE
neverOE
nathemorea1200
hardly1631
OE Metrical Charm: For Swarm of Bees (Corpus Cambr. 41) 10 Sitte ge, sigewif, sigað to eorþan! Næfre ge wilde to wuda fleogan.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 35 (MED) Þu forwurðest..and þu nast neure hwenne.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9724 Ne scullen we nauære here liggen [c1300 Otho nolle we here ligge]. for ane lom me monne.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 514 (MED) Þough he were komen of..cherls..so was he neuere!
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 1567 (MED) Misdrede ȝow neuer.
c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. Prol. 12 Þanne gan I mete a merueillous sweuene, Þat I was in a wildernesse, wiste I neuere where.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 79 He..asked what that was. And his wiff saide she wost neuer.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 297 He was ryght dolaunt..and coude neuer hold hys tonge, but he said [etc.].
a1593 C. Marlowe Tragicall Hist. Faustus (1616) sig. E4v 'Sbloud I am neuer able to endure these torments.
?a1600 (a1500) Sc. Troy Bk. (Cambr.) l. 105 in C. Horstmann Barbour's Legendensammlung (1882) II. 220 We come neuir ine purpos here Ȝour kingis lande to stroye no stere.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. iv. 49 Neuer shake Thy goary lockes at me. View more context for this quotation
1738 J. Swift Treat. Polite Conversat. (1963) 76 Come, Miss, never sigh but send for him.
a1777 S. Foote Cozeners (1778) iii. ii. 68 I take care, Missy, never you fear.
1795 tr. K. P. Moritz Trav. Eng. 261 I do not recollect to have heard any expression repeated oftener than this never mind it! A porter..fell down, and cut his head..‘O, never mind it!’ said an Englishman who happened to be passing by.
1825 J. Bentham Indications Respecting Ld. Eldon 42 Never you mind that; your business is to make sure of the fees.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 25 Give your opinion.., never minding whether Critias or Socrates is the person refuted.
1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad 40 I cheer a dead man's sweetheart, Never ask me whose.
1896 A. Morrison Child of Jago xii. 120 ‘I never,’ protested Dicky stoutly.
1909 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Avonlea xvii. 192 ‘Davy,’ said Marilla ominously, ‘did you throw that conch down on purpose?’ ‘No, I never did,’ whimpered Davy.
1950 L. A. G. Strong Which I Never i. 12 ‘You've invented him.’ ‘Which I never, sir.’
1972 N. Marsh Tied up in Tinsel ii. 49 ‘A booby-trap.’ ‘I never!’ Mervyn burst out. ‘My God..I swear I never.’
1988 Times 20 Feb. 25/1 (headline) Never mind the ICI figures just watch its predictions.
1997 M. Anthony in J. Whinray Down 'Long weth We 24 Now tuch your pipe, comrades, says I, And niver be too hasty, And I will make a fooch to rhyme About the taaty-pasty.
b. colloquial. Expressing disbelief (at what has just been said or at a sudden occurrence): surely not. Frequently with verb implied or understood.The construction often gives a statement the force of a declarative question.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > disbelief, incredulity > [adverb] > expressing disbelief
really1753
never1855
sans blague1922
1855 E. C. Gaskell North & South II. xxi. 282 ‘Surely, sir, it's never so!’ said Mrs. Purkis, turning to Mr. Bell for confirmation of the sad suspicion that now entered her mind.
1914 G. B. Shaw Fanny's Last Play iii, in Misalliance 203 Dora. Why, it's never No. 406! Margaret. Yes it is.
1939 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Ingleside xxv. 171 ‘I've an idea Bruno has gone back there.’ ‘Six miles? He'd never!’ said Jem.
1990 J. Seely et al. Oxf. Eng. Programme (BNC) 107 (Marlon whispers in the girls' ears. They start laughing.) Fatty: He never! Marlon: He did!
c. colloquial. never mind ——: let alone; not to mention; far less.
ΚΠ
1907 Independent (N.Y.) 3 Jan. 48/2 A man will break thru the Decalog, never mind a New Year's resolution, in order to get back to his habit.
1968 Guardian 27 Dec. 8/1 We still have to adapt to Prime Ministers and Presidents, never mind astronauts, who have the essential quality of ordinariness.
1978 Times 18 Mar. 22/7 Some of my players have not even seen Wembley never mind play there.
1992 J. Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! xxix. 367 Its co-projectionists were a pair of juiceheads who'd be lucky to see the screen, never mind the shadows writhing on it.
3. Followed by the and a comparative: not at all the (better, etc.); in no degree, to no extent. Cf. none pron. 1b.† b. With less (formerly also in the form nevertheless). Cf. nevertheless adv. Obsolete.† c. With more (formerly also in the form neverthemore). Cf. neverthemore adv. Obsolete.In some examples more may have the sense ‘from that point onward, longer’ (see more adj. 4) instead of functioning as a comparative.
a. With comparative adjectives and adverbs generally.never the near: see near adv.1 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > not at all
neverOE
neverOE
nathemorea1200
hardly1631
OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Corpus Cambr. 196) 13 Dec. 262 Þa cwæð heo: ‘Nys me þynes weales hæmed næfre þe leofre þe me nædre toslyte.’
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 23162 Bot for ȝou was i neuer þe bett.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. ix. 78 More bilongeth..Þan nempnyng of a name and he neuere þe wiser.
a1450 Pater Noster Richard Ermyte (Westm. Sch. 3) (1967) 6 (MED) Euery day I preye & I fare neuer þe bettir for my preier.
1508 J. Fisher Treat. Penyt. Psalmes sig. nn.i But Achab was neuer the better.
a1563 J. Bale King Johan (1969) ii. 1497 The lord..call them to grace and fauer them neuer þe worsse.
1628 T. Hobbes tr. Thucydides Peloponnesian War (1822) 105 In the end never the nearer to the victory.
1705 G. Stanhope Paraphr. Epist. & Gospels II. 312 The Condition of the Receiver is..never the better.
1768 T. Gray Let. 3 Feb. in Corr. (1971) III. 1005 I am never the wiser, nor the more able to account for T:s letter.
1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. I. ii. x. 602 The conviction of the criminal..would be never the nearer.
1886 F. Pollock Oxf. Lect. (1890) iv. 108 He who is in these ways..a better man will be never the worse lawyer.
1985 Amer. Lit. 57 486 The policeman to whom she misquotes the Bible and the nephew she subtly mocks in doing so are never the wiser.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [adverb] > however, nevertheless, notwithstanding
though-whetherc897
nathelesseOE
though971
whetherOE
yetOE
neverlOE
what for-thyc1175
nethelessa1200
never the latterc1225
algatec1230
in spite of (despite, maugre, etc.) one's teethc1230
nought for thatc1275
(all) for noughtc1325
(in) spite of one's nosec1325
alway1340
thoughless1340
ne'er the later (also latter)a1382
ne'er the lessa1382
neverlatera1382
neverthelessa1382
ne for-thia1400
neverlessa1400
not-againstandinga1400
nauthelessc1400
nouthelessc1400
algatesc1405
noughtwithstanding1422
netherless?a1425
notwithstanding1425
nethertheless1440
not gainstandingc1440
not the lessa1450
alwaysa1470
howbeit1470
never þe quedera1475
nought the lessc1480
what reck?a1513
nonetheless1533
howsomever1562
after all1590
in spite of spite1592
meantime1594
notwithstand1596
withal1596
in the meanwhile1597
meanwhile1597
howsoever1601
in (one's) spite?1615
however1623
in the meantime1631
non obstante1641
at the same time1679
with a non-obstante to1679
stilla1699
the same1782
all the same1803
quand même1825
still and all1829
anyhow1867
anyway1876
still and ona1894
all the samey1897
just the same1901
but1939
lOE St. Nicholas (Corpus Cambr.) (1997) 90 Tyþiað me huru of æghwilce scipe an hundred gemitte hwæte..& ic behate eow fullice þurh mines drihtnes gife, þæt ge næfre þe læsse ne sculon habben þonne ge ham cumað.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 43 (MED) Heore aȝene pine neure nere þe lesse þah heo meistres weren.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 119 Ne luueð us ure lauerd neauer þe leasse.
c1395 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 335 He is to greet a nygard that wil werne A man to lighte a candel at his lanterne; He shal han neuer the lasse light pardee.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl 864 Neuer oneȝ honour [is] ȝet neuer þe les.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 4228 And ȝour lare of a leke suld neuire þe les worth.
a1500 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 170 (MED) When such cloth ys all ywrowte..The pryce ys sympyll—þe cost ys neuer the lesse.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 2 Cor. viii. 15 He that gaddered lytell had neverthelesse.
1549 King Edward VI in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) II. i. xxv. 213 He [sc. the king] thought good to require him [sc. the bishop] and nevertheless to charge him [etc.].
1601 A. Dent Plaine Mans Path-way to Heauen 425 When she ariseth, she loueth it neuerthelesse, but dandles it.
1609 Bible (Douay) I. Num. xi. Comm. That they might have so much helpe of grace as pleased God, and Moyses have neverthelesse.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 173 Let us make never the lesse of it, nor be discouraged.
1710 M. Chudleigh Ess. Several Subj. To Rdr. sig. A6 I think it [sc. marriage] ought to be a Union of Minds..where it does not happen to be so, there is the greater Trial of Virtue, but never the less Obligation to Duty and Respect.
1739–40 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature III. ii. 535 The consequences of every breach of equity seem to lie very remote... They are, however, never the less real for being remote.
1866 T. W. Robertson Society ii. i. 24 May the bill of your sublime highness' washerwoman be never the less.
1878 A. C. Swinburne tr. F. Villon Complaint Fair Armouress iv, in Poems & Ballads 2nd Ser. 195 Though I gat bruises green and black, I loved him never the less a jot.
ΚΠ
c1390 G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale 982 The senatours wyf hir aunte was, But for al that she knew hir neuer the moore.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 325 (MED) Be nyȝter-tale he sall þe neȝe..And ȝe be merryd neuer þe mare.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 248/2 Whan ony was made Cezar neuerthemore he was Augustus ne emperour.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 2 Cor. viii. 15 He that gaddered moche had never the more aboundance.
1606 L. Bryskett Disc. Ciuill Life 37 His law, though it be milder then the other, was neuerthemore allowable.
1675 J. Crowne Countrey Wit i. 13 I give never the more credit to the story from her Authority.
1734 T. Cooke tr. Terence Phormio ii. vi, in tr. Terence Comedys III. 91 Ant.: I was looking for you. Get.: But we were never the more negligent for that.
1831 New Eng. Mag. July 9 Even they are never the more happy for it, and they would accomplish more by a different course.
1875 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 238/1 Never the more, however, could he shake himself free from the inborn might of hereditary leanings.
?1876 W. Morris Sigurd ii, in Coll. Wks. (1910–11) XII. 123 He toucheth her breast and her hands..And he saith: ‘Awake! I am Sigurd;’ but she moveth never the more.
4. In clauses and phrases with concessive force, denoting an unlimited amount. Cf. ever adv. and adj. Phrases 5a(a).† b. never such: (with a noun) as (much, great, etc.) —— as could be. Obsolete.
a. never so: (with an adjective or adverb) as —— as could be.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > in or to the greatest degree
never solOE
with (also mid) the mostc1275
for the masteryc1325
to the bestc1390
to the uttermostc1400
at the hardest1429
to the utmostc1450
to the skies (also sky)1559
at float1594
all to nothing1606
to the height1609
to the proofa1625
to the last degree1639
to the welkin?1746
(the) worst kind1839
for all it's worth1864
as —— as they make them?a1880
in the highest1897
to the nth (degree, power)1897
up to eleven1987
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1086 Nan man ne dorste slean oðerne man, næfde he næfre swa mycel yfel gedon wið þone oðerne.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 7 (MED) Ne swincke þu nefre swa muchel, a hit bið undon.
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 345 Ne bo þe song neuer [a1300 Jesus Oxf. ne] so murie [etc.].
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 80 Were he neure knicth so strong [etc.].
c1330 (?a1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) p. 510 (MED) Be he neuer so riche of fe, He flemeþ him out of lond.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 2458 (MED) No seg..no schuld hom winne hiȝed þei neuer so hard.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 151 A man may noȝt here anoþer, crie he neuer so hie.
c1475 (a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 321 Betere..þen preyere of any ordre.., blabere þei neuere so meche wiþ lippis.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. aivv Though thow pike the flesh neuer so clene, yet thow shalte fynde thredes ther in.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xcix. 1 He sytteth upon the Cherubins, be the earth neuer so vnquiete.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. 243 He neuer once changed his countenance.., though the sight were neuer so full of ruth.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. sig. ⁋4 Sufficient for a whole host, be it neuer so great.
a1649 W. Drummond Hist. Scotl. (1655) 36 To discover to the world..how men never so well qualified, small in means, and silly of power, were not for great places.
1692 J. Ray Wisdom of God (ed. 2) i. 2 Though the Trees grow never so irregularly.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 120. ¶15 When the Birth appears of never so different a Bird, [the Hen] will cherish it for her own.
1774 O. Goldsmith Grecian Hist. I. ix. 342 Some vigorous effort, though it carried never so much danger, ought to be made.
1844 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xlii. 488 [They] worked..to make the door secure; but though they worked never so hard, it was all in vain.
1897 B. Stoker Dracula xxiv. 328 To sail a ship takes time, go she never so quick.
1908 Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Apr. 3/2 The golden-rayed lily, be it never so gorgeous.
1922 E. R. Eddison Worm Ouroboros xxvii. 352 Fate will not be cheated, cog we never so wisely.
1983 T. Pratchett Colour of Magic 30 There are certain spells that can prevent the life departing from a body, be it never so abused.
ΚΠ
a1425 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Linc. Inn) (1952) 3041 We ouercome..þe riche kyng of Mede Hadde he neuer such ferhede.
1603 T. Dekker 1603: Wonderfull Yeare sig. A3v If [the play be] Bad, who (but an asse) would intreate..that, be it neuer such wicked stuffe, they would forbeare to hisse.
1742 H. Fielding Miss Lucy in Town 1 Tho' a Jury of Cuckolds were to give never such swinging Damages, it will not deter Men from qualifying more Jurymen.
1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present i. ii. 13 Enforce it by never such statuting, three readings, royal assents;..it will not stand.
a1887 Mod. Proverb. Rime in N.E.D. (1887) at Black a. 5 I'd rather have black hands, and plenty of meat, Than never such white ones, and nothing to eat.
5. † a. never one: not a single one, none at all. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [phrase] > nothing, no one, not any
never onec1175
never ac1300
never kinsc1300
no kinsc1350
for odd or evenc1425
never anyc1522
penny nor paternoster1528
never a one1534
not a soul1568
neither top nor toe1610
no flesh1663
neither horn nor hoof1664
no sort of‥1736
no nothing1815
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7300 Næfran off hemm. Ne shall þær muȝhenn mælenn.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 257 (MED) Bimong alle his crokinde creftes, wið neauer an ne keccheð he creftiluker cang men.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 2594 .Þe king..nefde..næfer enne of alle his monnen.
c1330 Otuel (Auch.) (1882) 530 (MED) Neueron of oþer ne stod eie.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl 864 Vchoneȝ blysse is breme and beste, And neuer oneȝ honour ȝet neuer þe les.
c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 582 We haue foomen atte gate, and frendes neuer oon.
c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 121 And j were wel disclosed..j shulde of neueroon be preysed.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 237 In malice spack I newir an woord.
1555 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. App. xliv. 125 Another thing much do I mervail at, that never one priest..did venture his life.
1614 State Papers Earl of Melrose (1837) I. 150 Echt schottes..and nevir one frome the castell.
b. never any: not a single one, none at all. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [phrase] > nothing, no one, not any
never onec1175
never ac1300
never kinsc1300
no kinsc1350
for odd or evenc1425
never anyc1522
penny nor paternoster1528
never a one1534
not a soul1568
neither top nor toe1610
no flesh1663
neither horn nor hoof1664
no sort of‥1736
no nothing1815
c1522 T. More Treat. Memorare Nouissima in Wks. (1557) I. 81 So yt neuer any of them had euer in their liues knowen or herd, either themself or any other voyd of those disseases.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. a Never any man living, in his writing, could please the phansie of all men.
1868 E. A. Allen City of Living in Poems 81 A city..Wherein the dwellers lived in peace and pleasure, And never any died.
1925 W. Cather Professor's House ii. iv. 213 We found clothes; yucca moccasins, and what seemed like cotton cloth... Never any wool, but sheepskins tanned with the fleece on them.
1928 J. Masefield Midsummer Night 190 There we dwell together..in knee-deep grass, Where never any gad nor botfly was.
6.
a. never a: not a single, no —— at all. Cf. ne'er a adj.never a deal: see never-a-deal adv. and n. never a whit: see whit n.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [phrase] > nothing, no one, not any
never onec1175
never ac1300
never kinsc1300
no kinsc1350
for odd or evenc1425
never anyc1522
penny nor paternoster1528
never a one1534
not a soul1568
neither top nor toe1610
no flesh1663
neither horn nor hoof1664
no sort of‥1736
no nothing1815
c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 104 Ne herde we neure a word.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2685 On þe feld was neuere a polk Þat it ne stod of blod so ful.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) iii. 102 There was never a myle but that they iusted togyder.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 99 He had never a drye threde about hym.
1581 B. Rich Farewell Militarie Profession sig. Dd.iv She had neuer a goune to putte on her backe but of a stale cutte.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iii. 101 There were seuenteen boats cast away.., and neuer a man saued.
1666 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) III. 178 I must beg a copy of those papers.., having never a duplicate by me.
1704 J. Swift Tale of Tub ii. 56 They..Whisper'd a Dutchess, and spoke never a Word.
1749 T. Nugent Grand Tour III. 149 They have never an university, but an academy of wits.
1819 W. Scott Legend of Montrose v. in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. IV. 86 Did you not put bread and cheese into a man's mouth, when he had never a stomach whereunto to transmit the same?
1864 G. W. Dasent Jest & Earnest (1873) II. 263 He still said never a word about the treasure.
1907 R. W. Service Songs of Sourdough (1908) 18 A broken wreck with a craze for ‘hooch’, and never a cent to my name.
1946 New Statesman 1 June 402/2 A thousand customers have I told this day there is never a fowl to be had.
1993 J. Merrill Different Person i. 6 My poems remained verbal artifacts..set on the page with never a thought of their being uttered by a living voice.
b. never a one (formerly also †never an one): not (a single) one.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [phrase] > nothing, no one, not any
never onec1175
never ac1300
never kinsc1300
no kinsc1350
for odd or evenc1425
never anyc1522
penny nor paternoster1528
never a one1534
not a soul1568
neither top nor toe1610
no flesh1663
neither horn nor hoof1664
no sort of‥1736
no nothing1815
1534 W. Turner tr. J. von Watt Of Olde God & Newe To Rdr. sig. Avij Neuer a one of the pyllers of the chyrche..nede to be a shamed of it.
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 132 Fiue hundreth propositions, that are false, and yet neuer a one expressely denied.
1606 Returne from Pernassus iii. ii If it went by wishing, there should neuer an one of them all haue aboue twentie a yeare.
1648 T. Hill Olive Branch 16 There is never a one of you but hath a Publique Place.
1692 S. Patrick Answer to Touchstone of Reformed Gospel 33 Near a dozen places; in never a one of which there is any mention..of Tradition.
1731 J. Tull New Horse-houghing Husbandry 156 They have seen it produce six Crops in six Years.., and never a one of them fail.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel i. xxiv. 24 Letter nor line know I never a one, Wer't my neck-verse at Hairibee.
1856 US Democratic Rev. June 519 You shall find a thousand books of more pretentious character..but never a one more genial or of happier influence.
1910 H. Belloc Sonnets & Verse 119 Wind and Thistle for pipe and dancers And never a ploughman under the Sun. Never a ploughman. Never a one.
1991 R. Harrison Patently Murder (BNC) 37 I have been to every Metropolitan police station... Never a one has had a report of a missing child.
B. int.
1. Expressing emphatic denial or refusal in response to a question or proposition.The idea of time is frequently expressed or implied in the question or the response, in which case the sense corresponds closely to sense A. 1. Cf. never again! at Phrases 5.
ΚΠ
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield xvi. 118 My approbation of such a choice! Never!
1810 S. Green Romance Readers III. xxiii. 134 ‘Perhaps..you may in the end be happy.’—‘Never!’ replied Mary, with a solemn kind of assurance that she never could be so again.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 70 Could such things be tolerated in a Christian land? Never!
1873 A. Trollope Eustace Diamonds I. xxiii. 314 What—to be pointed at as the woman that Lord Fawn had jilted? Never!
1904 J. Conrad Nostromo i. viii You call these men Government officials? They? Never! They are officials of the mine.
1925 W. Cather Professor's House i. iv. 60 ‘Afraid of me? Never!’ ‘Oh, yes, I am when you're sarcastic.’
1987 A. Djoleto Hurricane of Dust i. 6 ‘Why don't you see your doctor about your cold?’ ‘And lose five hundred cedis a day? Never!’
2. Expressing disbelief of or surprise at what has just been said. Also used ironically.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection]
whatOE
well, wellOE
avoyc1300
ouc1300
ay1340
lorda1393
ahaa1400
hillaa1400
whannowc1450
wow1513
why?1520
heydaya1529
ah1538
ah me!a1547
fore me!a1547
o me!a1547
what the (also a) goodyear1570
precious coals1576
Lord have mercy (on us)1581
good heavens1588
whau1589
coads1590
ay me!1591
my stars!a1593
Gods me1595
law1598
Godso1600
to go out1600
coads-nigs1608
for mercy!a1616
good stars!1615
mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616
gramercy1617
goodness1623
what next?1662
mon Dieu1665
heugh1668
criminy1681
Lawd1696
the dickens1697
(God, etc.) bless my heart1704
alackaday1705
(for) mercy's sake!1707
my1707
deuce1710
gracious1712
goodly and gracious1713
my word1722
my stars and garters!1758
lawka1774
losha1779
Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784
great guns!1795
mein Gott1795
Dear me!1805
fancy1813
well, I'm sure!1815
massy1817
Dear, dear!1818
to get off1818
laws1824
Mamma mia1824
by crikey1826
wisha1826
alleleu1829
crackey1830
Madonna mia1830
indeed1834
to go on1835
snakes1839
Jerusalem1840
sapristi1840
oh my days1841
tear and ages1841
what (why, etc.) in time?1844
sakes alive!1846
gee willikers1847
to get away1847
well, to be sure!1847
gee1851
Great Scott1852
holy mackerel!1855
doggone1857
lawsy1868
my wig(s)!1871
gee whiz1872
crimes1874
yoicks1881
Christmas1882
hully gee1895
'ullo1895
my hat!1899
good (also great) grief!1900
strike me pink!1902
oo-er1909
what do you know?1909
cripes1910
coo1911
zowiec1913
can you tie that?1918
hot diggety1924
yeow1924
ziggety1924
stone (or stiffen) the crows1930
hullo1931
tiens1932
whammo1932
po po po1936
how about that?1939
hallo1942
brother1945
tie that!1948
surprise1953
wowee1963
yikes1971
never1974
to sod off1976
whee1978
mercy1986
yipes1989
1974 N. Bentley Inside Information xv. 151 ‘There's a fellow..got a gun—a pistol.’ ‘Never!’
1986 Wire Aug. 6 After three years of nil budget increases and mounting deficits, the Director resigned..and JCN was wound up... The crux was money (never!).
1995 K. Atkinson Behind Scenes at Museum (1996) ii. 58 Nell told him..Lillian was working as a conductress on the trams and Frank raised both eyebrows and said, ‘Never!’.
Phrases
Phrases and proverbs. P1. never is a long time and variants.
ΚΠ
c1395 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale 1411 Bet than neuere is late. Neuere to thryue were to long a date.]
1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 260 Never is a long Term.
1853 M. Barnett Bold Dragoons i. i. 3 Nin.: I'll never marry. Ros.: Never? Nin.: Never, never! Ros.: Never is a long time.
1862 A. Trollope Orley Farm II. x. 77 Never is a very long word.
1904 Q. Rev. July 152 Never, it is rightly said, is a long day.
1990 Science 8 June 1173 He does allow himself a questionable remark: ‘The time will never again come when America will regain its strength in industry.’ An answer to that one is that never is a long time.
P2. never say die: never give up; never despair.For attributive use of this phrase see Compounds 1c.
ΚΠ
1814 B. F. Palmer Diary (1914) 80 Then look out blow her up boys never say die.
1835 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz (1836) 1st Ser. II. 39 What's the matter, sir? Never say die, you know.
1880 J. Payn Confid. Agent III. 161 Never say die while there's a shot in the locker.
1918 Sunday Times 10 Nov. 6/7 A strategist might advise the German Government that the last word of war is ‘never say die’, and might advise a prolonged defence.
1971 Scope (S. Afr.) 19 Mar. 10/2 Israel is a land that lives by the maxim: ‘Never say die.’
P3. British colloquial. well, I never! (also well, I never did!): used to express surprise, indignation, etc.The exclamation may have arisen through shortening of expressions of the type illustrated in quot. 1816.
ΚΠ
1816 S. Beazley Is he Jealous? 28 Lord! Lord! Well, I never was so surprised!]
1836 I. Pocock Robber's Wife ii. i. 30 Well, I never—now, did you ever—but no matter, here's a friend will stand by me.
1837 J. Oxenford No Followers 19 Oh, gemini, well I never, why there's Toby a kneeling, and kissing missus's hand!
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxvi ‘My lord!’ thought Mrs Nickleby. ‘Well, I never did—’.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) i. 7 This almost caused Jemima to faint with terror. ‘Well, I never,’—said she.
1926 A. Bennett Ld. Raingo ii. lxxi. 322 She faintly annoyed him by her ingenuous exclamations: Oh my! Well, I never! Well I never did!
1993 R. Rankin Suburban Bk. of Dead (BNC) 142 Laura flicked back. ‘Blank. Tipp-Exed out! Typical!’ ‘Well,’ said Rex. ‘Well, I never did.’
P4. you never know (also one never knows): used to admit uncertainty about a matter, or to acknowledge the possibility that something unexpected or surprising may occur.
ΚΠ
1830 J. F. Cooper Water Witch I. viii. 140 ‘One never knows—one never knows—’ muttered the Alderman.
1891 C. O'Brien Cross Purposes in Possible Plays 11 I confess it didn't seem likely on the face of it, but one never knows.
1895 Mrs. H. Ward Bessie Costrell iii. 62 I know some people over at Bedford where her aunt lived as left it her, and they were sure it wasn't a great deal; but you never know.
1924 G. B. Shaw St. Joan vi. 94 A flaw in the procedure may be useful later on: one never knows.
1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair xiv. 147 It would be too great luck that he should be staying at the Midland, but one never knows.
1974 J. Mann Sticking Place viii. 129 ‘I'll come with you,’ Edward said... He added in a low, ominous voice..‘You never know.’
2004 J. Mansell One you really Want xxxix. 222 Full of braying Hoorays, probably, but you never know. Could be fun.
P5. colloquial. never again!: expressing emphatic refusal to repeat an experience, etc., or (occasionally) certainty that it will not be repeated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > [phrase] > refusal to repeat
never again!1836
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xxi. 217 He paced hurriedly to and fro..then..added more calmly, ‘Rouse yourself... You will revive yet.’ ‘Never again, George; never again'—said the dying woman.
1860 N. Hawthorne Marble Faun II. xvii. 189 Let us never speak of it again! No, no! never again!
1873 T. Hardy Pair of Blue Eyes II. iv. 51 Thank you. But never again.
1901 G. Ade 40 Mod. Fables 161 And everybody said, ‘Never Again.’
1930 A. Groom Merry Christmas xvi. 123 Every time I get shikkered I sober up after an' say ‘Never again, Sandy’.
1991 Traveller Winter 16 For others, sitting penniless and exhausted in the airport departure lounge, still festooned with Mardi Gras beads..it's ‘never again’.
Compounds
C1. Phrases used attributively (now frequently with hyphen).
a. With to be followed by a past participle, esp. in never-to-be-forgotten.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > [adjective] > worthy of remembrance, memorable
memoriablea1450
rememberablec1450
well-remembered1482
memorable1483
memorial?1504
memorousa1513
never-to-be-forgotten1586
rememorablea1641
unforgettable1806
nameable1858
memorious1882
salient1938
1586 J. Lyly Love's Metamorphosis (1902) iv. i. 8 My never to be quenched flames.
1596 G. Markham Poem of Poems iii A neuer to be chang'd conioyne The Nymph seekes of her deere.
1607 S. Collins Serm. Paules-Crosse 85 A long desired, and neuer to be disannulled conformitie.
1652 Perfect Diurnall No. 159. 2396 His never to be forgotten faithful service for this Commonwealth.
1688 London Gaz. No. 2381/1 A never-to-be-shaken Loyalty to Your Majesty.
1709 H. Sacheverell Perils False Brethren 5 This Never-to-be-forgotten Festival.
1747 tr. Mem. Nutrebian Court I. 166 By your often-vowed, never-to-be-changed love.
1810 R. Southey in Edinb. Ann. Reg. 1808 1 i. 9/2 That never-to-be-forgotten massacre of the Protestants.
a1849 H. Coleridge Ess. & Marginalia (1851) I. 94 The product of his never-to-be-seen acres.
1887 W. P. Frith Autobiogr. I. xi. 137 We had..on one never-to-be-forgotten occasion, a speech from Turner.
1935 L. MacNeice Poems 56 That never-to-be-touched Vision is your mistress.
1953 C. Thomas Let. 9 Feb. in D. Thomas Coll. Lett. (1987) 865 Anything he sells is either a re-hashed bubble and squeak of adolescence, or a never to be fulfilled promise in the future.
1993 City Paper (Baltimore) 12 Nov. 24/2 The one ironclad, never-to-be-broached rule is that you don't snitch to the prison authorities on another con.
b. With an adverb followed by a past participle; also with an adverb (esp. enough) followed (or preceded) by to be and a past participle.
ΚΠ
1604 S. Hieron Preachers Plea in Wks. (1620) I. 530 The neuer-enough reuerenced exercise of preaching.
a1648 W. Percy Cuck-queanes & Cuckolds Errants (1824) iii. v. 40 You, before you drink of this neuer-too-much-to be admired Hippocrene, must wash your harish throates.
1657 W. Rand tr. P. Gassendi Mirrour of Nobility i. 67 That never to be enough praised Arch-bishop.
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 50 The never-to-be-commended-enough Licosthenes.
1691 J. Dunton Voy. round World II. iv. 46 Thou..being well recover'd by the exquisite, and never-sufficiently acknowledg'd kindness of the best of Masters.
1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. §146 The never-enough-admired laws of pain and pleasure.
1752 A. Murphy Gray's Inn Jrnl. No. 11 The never enough to be admired Art of Humbugging.
1802 Noble Wanderers I. 205 That never to be sufficiently regretted step of leaving my house.
1850 R. W. Emerson Swedenborg in Representative Men iii. 119 Why hear I the same sense from countless differing voices, and read one never quite expressed fact in endless picture-language?
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch IV. viii. lxxv. 217 Will Ladislaw was always to..have an understood though never fully expressed passion for her.
1914 H. James Let. 17 Oct. in H. James & E. Wharton Lett. (1990) vi. 313 Rodin and his never-before-held and apparently most sordid and inavouable little wife.
1996 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 Feb. 36/4 A yearning that existed more for its own sake than for its never clearly defined object.
2001 Wired Feb. 104/2 The industrial city, with..its satanic mills housing vast, never-before-seen mechanisms.
c. As use of various (chiefly imperative) phrases, esp. never say die (cf. Phrases 2).
ΚΠ
1806 Simple Narr. II. 48 You are such a puritanical never-do-amiss lady.
1837 S. R. Maitland 6 Lett. Fox's A. & M. 42 This ‘never mind’ school of history.
1841 S. C. Hall & A. M. Hall Ireland I. 186 That's a never-my-care sort..as ever I met with.
1925 Amer. Mercury Feb. 219/2 The whole plot revolves around the go-getter's..earning the position of general manager through his Napoleonic resourcefulness and never-say-die spirit.
1947 C. Amory Proper Bostonians (1948) x. 225 Its present occupant..is still on occasion plagued by the never-say-die curious.
1974 Country Life 5 Dec. 1717/2 The mental stamina, and the never-say-die spirit.
1993 C. Lorrimer Spinning Wheel (BNC) 406 I go right along with the ‘never look a gift horse in the mouth’ proverb.
C2.
a. With past participles.† never-adone adj. Obsolete† never-foiled adj. Obsolete† never-glutted adj. Obsolete† never-needed adj. Obsolete† never-weaned adj. Obsolete† never-wearied adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. To Rdr. 11 The never-adone Physicking and Taking of Fees.
never-broken adj.
ΚΠ
1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 2nd Pt. sig. J8v Like vnruly never broken Iades.
1596 Raigne of Edward III (1929) iv. v. 75 He heath my never broken name to shew Charactred with this princely handle mine.
1873 J. R. Lowell Cathedral (rev. ed.) in Poet. Wks. 452/1 Never-broken secrecies of sky.
never-come adj.
ΚΠ
1892 W. B. Yeats Let. Nov. (1954) 218 The ever-coming never-come light of that ideal peace and freedom.
never-completed adj.
ΚΠ
1846 in Edinb. Rev. July 21 His [sc. Leibnitz's] never completed Calculating Machine—his fragment of an Universal Alphabet..his improved Watches which were never constructed.
1948 Trollopian 3 88 The last letter..refers..to the never-completed Landleaguers.
never-conquered adj.
ΚΠ
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. D4v Vnder that colour am I come to scale Thy neuer conquered Fort. View more context for this quotation
1839 H. F. Gould Poems III. 33 And ocean..Will sing to thee an everlasting song Of freedom, with his never-conquered waves.
1951 L. MacNeice tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust 235 Now even my army, I fear, must needs Obey the conquering, never-conquered woman.
never-contented adj.
ΚΠ
1845 E. A. Poe Raven 86 Those butterflies, Of Earth, who seek the skies, And so come down again (Never-contented things!).
1955 Yearbk. Anthropol. 62/2 It was this restless, never-contented aspect of Wallace's personality which finally led him beyond the reach of his fellows.
never-contradicted adj.
ΚΠ
1650 Bp. J. Hall Revelation Unrevealed xxxiii. 217 That old, and never-contradicted distinction of the Church Militant and Triumphant.
1816 S. T. Coleridge Statesman's Man. App. E p. xli The silent accrescence of belief from the unwatched depositions of a general, never-contradicted hearsay!
1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 19 Aug. a26 The tests went on..despite the relatively early and never-contradicted finding that no ‘useful’ results were being produced.
never-daunted adj.
ΚΠ
a1592 R. Greene Hist. Orlando Furioso (1594) sig. H Hadst thou..[the] neuer daunted thoughts of Hercules.
1829 N. Amer. Rev. Apr. 504 Forthwith this never daunted champion appears in the field, and fastens upon what he deems the incipient monster of heresy.
1948 R. Torrence Story of John Hope 374 in Jrnl. Negro Hist. 33 489 John Hope was a dispeller of shadows, shining through them with..the lightnings of his never-daunted passion.
never-done adj.
ΚΠ
1856 S. T. Dobell Eng. in Time of War 70 The to and fro storm of the never-done hurrahing.
never-dreamt adj.
ΚΠ
1951 L. MacNeice tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust 302 Make to this good soul concession—Only once misled by pleasure To a never-dreamt transgression.
never-dried adj.
ΚΠ
1607 S. Hieron Worth Water of Life in Wks. (1620) I. 198 It shall be in their bowels as a neuer-dryed fountaine.
1962 J. T. Marsh Self-smoothing Fabrics iii. 24 The water-retention of never-dried mercerised cotton could be reduced from 108% to 88% by boiling in water for 6 hr.
1990 R. Price Tongues of Angels i. 41 His mattress pad was a swamp of concentric circles of never-dried pee.
never-ended adj.
ΚΠ
1658 G. Swinhoe Unhappy Fair Irene ii. 4 You..might, deduce the never ended plagues of Heaven, In showers on your head.
1829 J. Cottle Malvern Hills (ed. 4) I. 17 To the ear The never-ended bubblings of the spring Send the same note—the same eternal note.
1897 Cent. Mag. Mar. 656/1 If the President happens to be alone with his never-ended task.
never-erased adj.
ΚΠ
1855 W. Whitman Leaves of Grass 83 I see your rounded never-erased flow, I see neath the rims of your haggard and mean disguises.
1969 Pacific Affairs 42 154 A never-erased tendency of the peoples of the subcontinent to coalesce round local loyalties, local interests, and local cultures.
never-filled adj.
ΚΠ
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 828 His neuer-filled mouth.
1835 New-Eng. Mag. Jan. 60 The instruments for pouring and pouring knowledge into the never-filled vessel of the human mind.
ΚΠ
1594 1st Pt. Raigne Selimus sig. Kv Beating the neuer-foyled Tonombey.
ΚΠ
1843 U.S. Mag. & Democratic Rev. Aug. 149 The bitter peak, This never-glutted vulture, and these chains.
1879 Harper's Mag. Apr. 689/1 That insatiable, never-glutted ‘tooth of time’, so constantly referred to by archæologists.
never-heard adj.
ΚΠ
1989 Washington Post 11 Mar. a21/4 The never-heard word ‘gynandrous’ means being of indeterminate or ambiguous sex.
never-lighted adj.
ΚΠ
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxii. 115 I see their unborn faces shine Beside the never-lighted fire. View more context for this quotation
2001 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) (Nexis) 17 Apr. 2 e [He]..carries a box stocked with tape, tacks, power tools, new white soap and never-lighted candles on a shoot to make a house look ‘natural’.
never-lost adj.
ΚΠ
1940 Sci. Monthly Mar. 219/2 We had still that never-lost thrill of isolation and sense of aloneness.
1957 A. Miller Coll. Plays (1958) iv. 27 His terror springs from his never-lost awareness of time and place.
never-named adj.
ΚΠ
1899 Jrnl. Anthropol. Inst. 28 24 The elders saw their dreaded, mysterious, never-named enemy before their door.
2000 Nature Conservancy Mar.–Apr. 14/2 In the end, because we raised enough of what in these parts is called a ‘stink’, the never-named company canned its proposal.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. i. 34 If you refuse your ayde In this so neuer-needed helpe. View more context for this quotation
never-omitted adj.
ΚΠ
1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. IV. ix. v. 581 One never-omitted portion of scandal.
1879 Harper's Mag. July 266/1 Mrs Jardine..rang for the servants, and conducted..the never-omitted family prayers.
never-quelled adj.
ΚΠ
1860 W. Whitman Leaves of Grass (new ed.) 368 Those with a never-quell'd audacity.
never-quenched adj.
ΚΠ
1588 tr. Theocritus Cyclops in Sixe Idyllia sig. A4v Great store of Oken woode I haue, and neuer quenched fire.
1655 R. Fanshawe tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad vi. 135 A never quenched Appetite.
1823 Countess of Pembroke Psalm 21 32 Flames of never-quenched fire shall these badd wightes devower.
1997 Boston Herald (Nexis) 5 June 58 The dry heat creates a never-quenched thirst.
never-read adj.
ΚΠ
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch II. iii. xxviii. 90 The shrunken furniture, the never-read books, and the ghostly stag.
never-rebuked adj.
ΚΠ
1950 D. Gascoyne Vagrant 12 The serene, robust air as of never-rebuked gaiety.
never-relinquished adj.
ΚΠ
1873 W. D. Howells Chance Acquaintance i. 7 A never-relinquished, never-fulfilled purpose.
never-repeated adj.
ΚΠ
1872 Exam. Bampton Lectures viii. 228 The never-repeated and extremely opaque expression, commonly translated, the Word was God.
1992 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. Oct. 47/1 Glasses where two or more colours swirl and float in a never-repeated interplay.
never-satisfied adj.
ΚΠ
1562 Bp. J. Pilkington Expos. Abdyas 65 The..harde-hearted never satisfied horsleches, the lawers.
1625 T. May tr. J. Barclay in K. Long tr. J. Barclay Argenis iv. vii. 259 He, whose neuer-satisfied maw Deuoures poore people.
1991 Christian Sci. Monitor 31 Dec. 17 A tortuous wrestle to appease a never-satisfied deity grimly looking down from a pretty unappealing heaven.
never-shaken adj.
ΚΠ
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. I7v On never shaken pillars of Æternity.
1846 R. H. Horne Ballad Romances 77 Her never-shaken constancy, That waited but a breath from thee.
never-shorn adj.
ΚΠ
1607 E. Sharpham Cupids Whirligig ii. i Say that a peeuish Flye intangled were within my neuer-shorne tresses.
1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 175 The long never-shorn hair.
2001 Spectator (Hamilton, Ont.) (Nexis) 15 Nov. d10 The never-shorn mane of real hair still spills across her shoulders.
never-tamed adj.
ΚΠ
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 460 The terrible neuer-tamed Scot.
1980 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 24 Oct. (House/Garden section) 18 Another welcome garden-helper is the never-tamed shrew.
never-tarnished adj.
ΚΠ
1944 W. H. Auden For Time Being iii. 29 Present to the speculative eye an ever-shining, never-tarnished proof of her amazing unheard-of power to combine and happily contrast.
never-tracked adj.
ΚΠ
1848 J. R. Lowell Poems 2nd Ser. 71 The lake's frore Sahara of never-tracked white.
never-trodden adj.
ΚΠ
1818 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto IV lxxiii. 39 I have seen the soaring Jungfrau rear Her never-trodden snow.
1920 J. Masefield Enslaved 55 That never-trodden trembling bright with foam.
never-used adj.
ΚΠ
1883 O. Schreiner Story Afr. Farm ii. xiii. 223 There was a never-used trap-door at one end of the sitting-room.
a1903 H. Spencer Autobiogr. (1904) I. xxix. 432 How..can any organ have acquired a never-used surplus or strength?
1995 Jrnl. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 90 658/2 We exploit a known but never-used relationship between entropy and the hazard rate function.
never-varied adj.
ΚΠ
1742 W. Shenstone Song viii, in Wks. (1777) I. 156 Let their very changes prove The never-vary'd force of love.
1880 Spectator 7 Aug. 1004/1 The privations of the past, notwithstanding the never-varied regularity of his habits, seemed to have weakened his robust constitution.
ΚΠ
1812 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Cantos I & II ii. xxxvi. 79 Her never wean'd, though not her favour'd child.
ΚΠ
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 304 Vsing therein such expedition and neuer-wearied patience.
1788 W. Hayley Ess. Epic Poetry in Poems & Plays III. iii. 60 The light cloud, whose varying vapors fly..Fixes and charms the never-wearied view.
1842 R. C. Trench Steadfast Prince i. vii, in Poems from E. Sources 128 Snow-white sea-birds, that expand Huge never-wearied pinions, far from land.
b. With past participles of phrasal verbs.
never dreamt-of adj.
ΚΠ
1888 G. Barlow Pageant of Life 197 Once I..Railed at God, and scoffed at man and woman; Now I find a never dreamt-of bliss.
never-heard-of adj.
ΚΠ
a1594 Edmond Ironside (1991) iv. i. 95 Prepare..some new never-hard of torteringe paine to scourge me for my foule ingratitude.
1641 J. Milton Animadversions 15 O new and never-heard of Supererogative.
1902 Mod. Lang. Notes 17 48/2 The well-known übermorgen in Faust, 3662, which likewise has been twisted into a never-heard-of meaning.
c. With present participles.† never-agreeing adj. Obsolete† never-eldering adj. Obsolete† never-hoping adj. Obsolete† never-loathing adj. Obsolete† never-rejecting adj. Obsolete† never-slacking adj. Obsolete† never-slaking adj. Obsolete† never-stooping adj. Obsolete† never-wearing adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1623 W. Drummond Cypresse Groue in Flowres of Sion 49 The neuer-agreeing bodies of the elementall Brethren.
never-altering adj.
ΚΠ
1696 J. Sergeant Method to Sci. 98 His never-altering Being does..eminently include all Possible Time and all Differences of Time.
a1809 A. Seward On Future Existence Brutes in Poet. Wks. (1810) II. 59 Those never altering laws Of equity and mercy, which combin'd To form the essence of th' Eternal Cause.
1999 Alestle (Southern Illinois Univ.) 18 Nov. It was this confidence, along with a never-altering will, that made Churchill the historical figure that he is today.
never-blushing adj.
ΚΠ
1648 J. Beaumont Psyche ix. cciv. 152 With a new plate of Brasse His never-blushing Front he fortifi'd.
1817 W. Gifford tr. Juvenal Satires iii, in Satires Juvenal & Persius I. 101 A flattering, cringing, treacherous, artful race, Of torrent tongue, and never-blushing face.
2001 Tampa (Florida) Tribune (Nexis) 3 Aug. 2 Jolie plays the never-blushing wife.
never-changing adj.
ΚΠ
1629 W. Mure Sonnets in Wks. (1898) I. 49 Can any crosse..Mak me to chaunge my neuer chaunging mynd?
a1737 E. S. Rowe On Wks. Creation in Misc. Wks. (1739) I. 143 I pine to see the glories of thy face; Where beauty in its never-changing height..shines bright.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge x. 292 Speaking in the bland, even tone, from which he never varied; and with the same soft, courteous, never-changing smile upon his face.
1991 Longevity Jan. 76/3 It provides a timeless and never-changing enemy on whom to lay the burdens of existence.
never-cloying adj.
ΚΠ
?1784 W. Cowper Task vi, in Wks. (1835–7) IX. 238 Copious of flowers the woodbine, pale and wan, But well compensating their sickly looks With never-cloying odours.
1871 Appletons' Jrnl. 6 May 531/1 The fragrance of the rose is possessed of such an unqualified, never-cloying, ever-fresh sweetness, that [etc.].
never-diminishing adj.
ΚΠ
1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad xxiii. 229 How in the world he can back and fill, shoot straight ahead..and make the oar stay in those insignificant notches, is a problem to me and a never diminishing matter of interest.
1981 W. Foley Back to Forest ii. 106 But oh, the never-diminishing thrill of recognising embryo lettuce, the tiny carrot, the pushful pea!
never-ebbing adj.
ΚΠ
1649 G. Wither Vaticinum Votivum 59 His full-fledg'd Soul cast off her Claie, To bathe in Tides of never-ebbing daie.
1847 C. Swain Dramatic Chapters xvi. 131 These two acts, born of my brotherly love, My deep, o'erflowing, never-ebbing love.
1985 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 30 May 1 The never-ebbing wave of Anglicisms and Americanisms.
ΚΠ
1876 G. M. Hopkins Wreck of Deutschland xviii, in Poems (1967) 57 Tears; such a melting, a madrigal start! Never-eldering revel and river of youth, What can it be, this glee?
never-erring adj.
ΚΠ
1589 H. Wotton Let. (modernized text) in L. P. Smith Life & Lett. Sir H. Wotton (1907) I. 227 The never-erring form of law.
1770 J. Armstrong Miscellanies I. 30 Prompted by instinct's never-erring power, Each creature knows its proper aliment.
1984 Shakespeare Q. 35 247/2 Both heaping curses on wicked Fortune and in the same breath acclaiming God's never-erring justice.
never-flagging adj.
ΚΠ
1832 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1971) VI. 912 The long, never-flagging Height and Sustainedness of irony.
1867 A. Barry Life & Wks. Sir C. Barry x. 323 Its never-flagging interest to him.
1993 Early Music (BNC) 21 104 The never-flagging enthusiasm of the English for their adopted composer.
never halting adj.
ΚΠ
1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 180 I'll wander on with tentless heed, How never-halting moments speed.
1881 Science 28 May 242/1 It is this never-halting progress which distinguishes scientific from every other kind of inquiry.
1997 Jakarta Post (Nexis) 27 Sept. 9 In a never halting flow of movement, a dancer led the five-member group in jumping and traveling across the simple shadowy setting.
never-hastening adj.
ΚΠ
1891 Atlantic Monthly June 779/2 A life sufficient for itself and filled with a never-hastening diligence.
1950 W. de la Mare Inward Compan. 13 With never-hastening feet Time pursues the Infinite.
never-healing adj.
ΚΠ
1826 S. W. Singer Dramatic Wks. Shakspeare IX. 416 (note) The rankling or never healing wounds inflicted by a parental malediction.
1991 Russ. Rev. 50 440 She harbored a minute but never-healing wound in the depths of her soul.
ΚΠ
1594 M. Drayton Ideas Mirrour sig. F3 Yet hope drawes on my neuer-hoping care.
never intermitting adj.
ΚΠ
1849 J. S. Mill in Westm. & Foreign Q. Rev. 51 34 The immense majority are condemned..to a life of never-ending, never-intermitting toil.
1999 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 1 Aug. 12 The famous critic Edmund Wilson once observed that all Carr's books suffered from ‘a never intermitting British chill’.
never-lifting adj.
ΚΠ
1856 Chambers's Jrnl. 19 July 48/2 Where four walls look grimly on the streets, On roof-tiles where a parching sunshine beats, And swoons beneath the never-lifting haze.
1929 Amer. Mercury Jan. 62/1 This embittered romantic existing in a never-lifting atmosphere of despair and frustration.
ΚΠ
1623 W. Drummond Cypresse Groue in Flowres of Sion 47 Two so louing Friends and neuer-loathing Louers.
never-melting adj.
ΚΠ
1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis vi. 109 Mountaines, topt with neuer-melting snowes.
1899 H. D. Rawnsley Sonnets Switzerland & Italy 70 A snowy bar of never-melting cloud, Borne high on purple wings.
1946 W. de la Mare Traveller 31 These mountains' never-melting snows.
never-moving adj.
ΚΠ
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia iv, in Compl. Wks. (1926) IV. 314 Those Lampes of Heavenly fyer to fixed motion bounde, For ever turning Spheres the never mooving grounde.
1887 R. W. Dixon Lyrical Poems 50 He sought at last that never-moving night Which is the same in darkness as in light, The closing of the eyes.
1970 Yale French Stud. 44 82 The intellect asks if Zeno's never-moving arrow rules out the possibility of life, movement, personal consciousness.
never-opening adj.
ΚΠ
?1685 J. Dryden tr. Theocritus Idyllium xxiii, in Wks. (1885) XII. 316 Farewell, ye never-opening gates, ye stones, And threshold guilty of my midnight moans!
1844 I. Williams Baptistery II. iv. 39 Upon them clos'd the never-opening grave.
1901 J. London God of his Fathers 10 Down the Valley of the Mackenzie to the never-opening ice.
never-pardoning adj.
ΚΠ
1923 R. Graves Whipperginny 54 This never-pardoning life we live May earn God's blackest punishment.
never-quenching adj.
ΚΠ
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II v. v. 108 That hand shall burne in neuer quenching fire. View more context for this quotation
1848 U.S. Mag. & Democratic Rev. Jan. 46/2 This holy Love, that from the first Burned with a never-quenching thirst.
1999 Times of India (Nexis) 16 Dec. [He] displayed a never-quenching thirst ‘for expanding his real estate’.
ΚΠ
1849 J. R. Lowell Day in June in National Anti-slavery Standard 8 Mar. 162/1 O never-rejecting roof of blue.
never-resting adj.
ΚΠ
a1637 W. Alexander Doomes-day (new ed.) v. v. 97 in Recreations with Muses Death walkes so slowly with his sleepy pace..That even to haste mans never resting race, Both warre and sicknesse violently strive.
1851 G. Bird Urinary Deposits (ed. 3) 98 The heart, a never-resting muscle.
1994 H. Bloom Western Canon ii. vi. 163 Like Hamlet, Alceste's mind is more never-resting than restless.
never-setting adj.
ΚΠ
1652 E. Benlowes Theophila xii. xcvii. 231 Time in Eternities immense Book is But as a short Parenthesis..Gods Day is never-setting Bliss.
1825 W. M. Praed Portrait ii Like never-setting stars.
1993 F. Cooper I believe in Angels (BNC) 119 She watched the heavens through the months when the sun swung its wide, never-setting circle.
never-sinking adj.
ΚΠ
1849 H. D. Thoreau Week Concord & Merrimack Rivers 244 The unwearied, never sinking shore.
1850 H. Melville White-jacket 463 We mortals are all on board a fast-sailing, never-sinking world-frigate, of which God was the shipwright.
ΚΠ
1697 W. Congreve Mourning Bride iii. i. 34 Drink bitter Draughts, with never-slacking Thirst.
ΚΠ
1652 E. Benlowes Theophila ii. xlii. 28 Shackled in red-hot Chains they yell In bottomlesse Extreams of never-slaking Hell!
never-sleeping adj.
ΚΠ
1567 G. Turberville Epitaphes, Epigrams f. 94v Him [sc. Argus] Iuno willde To watch the Beast with neuer sleeping browe.
1766 G. Cockings Conquest Canada iii. iii. 35 Thou, whose never sleeping Eyes pierce at One Glance thro' Space immense.
1990 P. Callow Van Gogh (BNC) 84 The Dutch tradition of realism, together with his never-sleeping Protestant conscience, forced him to find an outlet for his visions and fantasies subversively.
never-smiling adj.
ΚΠ
1810 A. Boswell Edinb. in Poet. Wks. (1871) 45 The rigid, never-smiling misanthrope.
1889 Cornhill Mag. Apr. 384 If I wanted to cure a man of melancholy and never-smiling grief, I would present him with a little owl.
2001 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 13 Dec. c12 The never-smiling, black-clad Robinson ‘plays the most amazing taskmaster.’
ΚΠ
1590 T. Watson Poems (Arb.) 173 Whose neuerstooping quill can best set forth such things of state.
never-stopping adj.
ΚΠ
1838 W. G. Simms Carl Werner 105 A heavy instrument of sounding metal told the progress of the never stopping hours.
1918 W. Lewis Tarr iii. i. 127 There was something fatal in the rapid never-stopping succession of their footsteps.
1992 R. Kelly Strange Market 118 The mowing machines grinding from first light well into the afternoon, a never-stopping howl of motors.
never swerving adj.
ΚΠ
1839 W. G. Simms Inutile Pursuit in Southern Passages & Pictures 57 Some true word, From never swerving teachers, building up, The moral of his faith into a pile.
1871 F. T. Palgrave Lyrical Poems 78 Who treads The road with never-swerving strength.
2001 Interview 1 June 66 I would like to dedicate this particular issue to my father..and to his never swerving commitment..to treating people..with the utmost humanity and dedication.
never-tiring adj.
ΚΠ
1713 A. Evans Vertumnus 8 The Bright God of Day presides, Aloft..Jocund to run his annual Course, With never-tiring Speed and Force.
1835 R. Browning Paracelsus iv. 131 Their pet nest and their never-tiring home.
1979 Yale French Stud. 58 90 All those well-meaning and never-tiring literary critics may continue to argue long and loud about the benefits of poetry.
never-twinkling adj.
ΚΠ
1623 W. Drummond Flowres of Sion 35 The neuer-twinkling euer-wondring Lights.
1760 G. Colman & R. Lloyd Two Odes i. 5 Daughter of Chaos and old Night..That wrapt in never-twinkling gloom canst write, And shadowest meaning with thy dusky veil!
1965 MLN 80 231 If we have persisted in spite of the poet in seeing the gods of his epic with a solemn, never-twinkling eye.
never varying adj.
ΚΠ
1805 A. A. Opie Adeline Mowbray III. i. 88 To meet every day the eyes of one being fixed with nevervarying affection on hers.
1848 D. P. Thompson Shaker Lovers i. 7 Neat, prim dresses of never-varying slate color.
1966 G. Durrell Two in Bush 115 Their [sc. keas'] strutting, pompous walk, their general attitude of being the lords of all they surveyed, combined with this oft-repeated and never varying cry.
never-waning adj.
ΚΠ
1823 S. L. Fairfield Poems 82 Time, grief, misfortune, and decay combine To gild the past with never-waning glow.
1905 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 13 321 The wages question is one of the economic problems that have a never-waning interest alike for the layman and the scientist.
1998 Chicago Daily Herald (Nexis) 27 Nov. 1 They applaud his never-waning dedication to the team.
ΚΠ
c1600 M. Cosowarth in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign Elizabeth (1845) II. 407 Thou hast clothed my soule with never-weering gladnes.
never-wearying adj.
ΚΠ
1807 R. A. Milliken River-side i. 21 That like the stream, with never wearying pace, Slips ceaseless down into that silent vale Where [etc.].
1936 in H. Frenz Nobel Lectures (1969) His [sc. Eugene O'Neill's] never-wearying delight in giving shape to the ideas..that have jostled one another in the depths of his contemplative nature.
never winking adj.
ΚΠ
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 361 The never-winking eye of Iustice.
1827 R. Emmons Fredoniad II. xvii. 224 With rage she flies, Seeking her foe with never-winking eyes.
1970 C. Major Swallow the Lake 53 Those deep blue and soft eyes, Those never winking, moving balls.
never-withering adj.
ΚΠ
1596 F. Sabie Adams Complaint sig. B3v This roote of pride (this neuer-withering weed).
1792 G. Dyer Poems 51 When the course of life is run, He'll wear a never with'ring crown.
1921 J. Masefield King Cole 87 Their brows seemed blessed, as though a hand unseen Had crowned their loves with never-withering green.
d. With adjectives.† never-certain adj. Obsolete† never-constant adj. Obsolete† never-deficient adj. Obsolete† never-loathsome adj. Obsolete† never-sere adj. Obsolete† never stable adj. Obsolete
never-anxious adj.
ΚΠ
1889 W. B. Yeats Wanderings of Oisin i. 5 And always never-anxious sleep.
ΚΠ
1594 M. Drayton Ideas Mirrour sig. F3 My neuer certaine ioy breeds euer-certaine feares.
1619 J. Fletcher Demetrius & Enanthe (1951) ii. iv. 39 The never certaine Fate of Warr considring.
ΚΠ
a1627 J. Beaumont Miserable State Man in Bosworth-field (1629) 85 The neuer-constant Moone.
never-dead adj.
ΚΠ
1596 E. Spenser Hymne Heauenly Loue in Fowre Hymnes 126 In bonds..Of never-dead yet ever~dying paine.
1882 Harper's Mag. Sept. 586/1 Constantly acting as spiritual nurses to the sick, complaining, and ever-dying but never dead members of their parishes.
1962 ELH 29 87 The ‘invisible sky’ in which nature's infinite memory hoards the dormant but never-dead phenomena of the past.
ΚΠ
1694 F. Bragge Pract. Disc. Parables viii. 296 The never-deficient grace of that good God.
ΚΠ
1561 J. Daus tr. H. Bullinger Hundred Serm. vpon Apocalips lxv. 459 A ioyefull, and neuer lothsomefulnes [1573 neuerlothsome fulnes].
never-quiet adj.
ΚΠ
1845 J. F. Cooper Chainbearer I. ii. 21 This dear sister was a little, jumping, laughing, never-quiet, merry thing..as handsome and sweet as a rose-bud.
1986 ELH 53 412 That unsatisfiable, never-quiet longing that usually is typified as sexuality.
ΚΠ
1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 20 in Justa Edouardo King Ye myrtles brown, with ivy never-sere [1645 in Poems, neversear; 1673 in Poems, never sear].
1778 J. Bampfylde Sixteen Sonnets 12 Around my Porch and lowly Casement spread, The Myrtle never-sear, and gadding Vine.
?1796 S. T. Coleridge in Compl. Poet. Wks. (1912) I. 103 May your fame fadeless live, as ‘never-sere’ The Ivy wreathes yon Oak!
never-silent adj.
ΚΠ
1703 W. Congreve Hymn to Harmony 2 A never ceasing, never silent Choir.
1834 M. Howitt Sketches Nat. Hist. 84 Those Rooks the trees among, Feeding their never-silent young.
1923 E. Blunden To Nature 39 O the days when I was young! Tis the never-silent cry.
ΚΠ
1723 B. Mandeville Fable Bees (ed. 2) i. 283 The fickle Breath of never Stable Fortune.
never-vacant adj.
ΚΠ
1812 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Cantos I & II i. li. 33 The station'd bands, the never-vacant watch.
1866 Atlantic Monthly Jan. 80 Four-and-twenty kings to come Up the never-vacant stair.
C3. † never-being n. Obsolete rare non-existence.† never-mention-'ems n. Obsolete slang trousers (cf. unmentionable n. 1a).† never-ready n. Obsolete rare a person who is never ready.† never-strike n. [compare strike v. 17] Nautical colloquial Obsolete a person who will not yield.† never-thrift n. Obsolete a ne'er-do-well, a wasteful person.† never-thriving n. Obsolete rare a group (of jugglers) (one of many alleged group terms found in late Middle English glossarial sources, but not otherwise substantiated).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun]
noughtOE
unbeing1435
non-beingc1443
nullity?1573
non esse1585
not-beinga1586
unexistence1593
nihilhood1602
non-essence?1605
inexistence1623
never-being1633
nonentity1643
non-existence1646
no-being1651
inexistency1660
nihility1678
cipherhooda1680
vacuitya1711
nothingness1766
nihilism1856
thinglessness1874
not-ness1933
nullness1949
1633 (title) The progeny of Catholicks and Protestants, whereby..is proved the lineal descent of Catholicks..and the never-being of Protestants.
Neverland n. †(a) Australian = never-never n. 1 (obsolete); (b) = never-never land n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > wild or uncultivated land > [noun] > specific
never-never1833
Never-Never Country1859
never-never land1875
marismas1884
Neverland1892
garigue1896
bled1930
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > faculty of conceiving ideals > ideal place > [noun]
heaveneOE
land of behesta1200
Cockaigne?c1335
Fortunate Islands?a1475
eutopia1553
utopia1601
horny gate (also port)1605
nonsucha1618
Americaa1631
El Dorado1788
other world1804
Cockneyland1817
cloud-cuckoo-land1824
Fiddler's Green1825
dreamland1832
Neverland1892
never-never land1900
Big Rock Candy Mountain1917
brave new world1933
Xanadu1948
Disneyland1956
ecotopia1975
1892 Bulletin (Sydney) 29 Oct. 24/1 Harry..back to old Vic, man, Down from the Never Land? Now, what's yer game?
1911 J. M. Barrie Peter & Wendy i. 9 The Neverland is always more or less an island.
1928 J. M. Barrie Peter Pan i, in Plays 32 Wendy: Where do you live now? Peter: With the lost boys... They are the children who fall out of their prams when the nurse is looking the other way. If they are not claimed in seven days they are sent far away to the Never Land.
1975 Times 16 Oct. 13/8 Sending the hero and heroine at the end into an azure never-land that is clearly some distance from both Dorset and London.
1987 Ess. in Crit. 37 82 Swedenborg's dreams of a Neverland up in heaven are Psalmanaazaar's conceits made mystical.
never-lasting adj. rare that lasts for little or no time, transient.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > [adjective]
slidinga900
scrithingOE
henwardOE
swifta1225
short livya1325
passing1340
flittingc1374
shadowy1374
temporalc1384
speedfula1400
transitory?c1400
brittlea1425
unabidingc1430
frail?c1450
indurablec1450
scrithel?c1475
caduke1483
transitorious1492
passanta1500
perishinga1500
caducea1513
fugitive?1518
caducal?1548
quick1548
delible1549
flittering1549
undurable?1555
shadowish1561
fleeting1563
vading1566
flightful1571
wanzing1571
transitive1575
slipping1581
diary1583
unlasting1585
never-lasting1588
flit1590
post-like1594
running1598
short-lived1598
short-winded1598
transient1599
unpermanent1607
flashy1609
of a day1612
passable1613
dureless1614
urgenta1616
waxena1616
decayable1617
horary1620
evanid1626
fugitable1628
short-dated1632
fugacious1635
ephemerala1639
impermanent1653
fungous1655
volatile1655
ephemerousa1660
unimmortal1667
timesome1674
while-being1674
of passage1680
journal1685
ephemeron1714
admovent1727
evanescent1728
meteorous1750
deciduous1763
preterient1786
ephemeridal1795
meteorica1802
meteor1803
ephemerean1804
ephemerid1804
evanescing1805
fleeted1810
fleet1812
unenduring1814
unremaining1817
unimmortalized1839
impersistent1849
flighty1850
uneternal1862
caducous1863
diurnal1866
horarious1866
brisk1879
evasive1881
picaresque1959
1588 ‘M. Marprelate’ Oh read ouer D. Iohn Bridges: Epitome sig. F2v Thus M.D. to his neuerlasting fame, hath..translated the greeke word presbyteros.
1990 H. Moss Notes from Castle ii. 12 You had merely stumbled on Another temporary battlefield As never-lasting as the shine of water.
never-married adj. and n. (a) adj. that has never married; (b) n. a person who has never married (frequently in plural); (also with the, with plural agreement) people who have never married regarded as a class.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > unmarried person(s) > [noun] > collectively
unmarried1557
unmarrieds1819
never-married1822
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > unmarried person(s) > [adjective] > relating to or involving unmarried state
onlepya1450
unmarried1536
single1549
sole1553
never-married1822
1822 H. Luttrell Lett. to Julia 74 Swan-bosomed, ruby-lipped, and star-eyed, Younger than you, and never-married.
1924 Jrnl. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 19 454 Maternity has different frequencies for (a) the widowed; (b) the divorced; and (c) the never married.
1947 Population Stud. 1 272 If the deaths of never-marrieds had not occurred, some of those who died would have married.
1948 Population Stud. 1 353 The probabilities of never-married males surviving 1 year at each age..are specified.
1993 Canad. Living June 100/1 This group includes single parents, widows and never-marrieds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers
trouse1678
trousers1681
kicks1699
trousiesa1713
brogues1748
inexpressibles1790
unmentionable1791
et cetera1794
indescribable1794
kickseys1819
ineffables1823
indispensablesa1828
unimaginable1833
pantaloon1834
pants1835
inexplicables1836
never-mention-'ems1836
unwhisperable1837
results1839
sit-down-upons1839
sit-upons1839
unmentionabilities1840
innominablea1843
unutterables1843
trews1847
round-the-houses1857
unprintable1860
stovepipe1863
sit-in-ems1873
reach-me-downs1877
strides1889
rounds1893
long1898
kecks1900
rammies1906
trou1911
pants1970
1836 C. Dance Match in Dark 1 Vel.: Where's Mr. Clements? O'Fl.: Putting on his best black never-mention-ems.
1856 T. Taylor in C. Kingsley Lett. (1877) I. 496 Socks, boots, and never-mention-ems, Mrs. Owen still has dried for us.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > unpreparedness > [noun] > one who is never ready
never-ready1862
1862 A. Trollope Orley Farm II. ii. 10 They are not the least happy of mankind, these never-readies.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > [noun] > one who perseveres
perseveranta1500
sticker?1542
persister1611
never-strike1855
plugger1895
Energizer bunny1991
1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xvi Yeo..returned with Drew and a score of old never-strikes.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > worthlessness > worthless person > [noun]
ribalda1250
brethelingc1275
filec1300
waynouna1350
waster1352
lorel1362
losel1362
land-leaper1377
javelc1400
leftc1400
lorerc1400
shackerellc1420
brethel1440
never-thrift1440
ne'er-thrifta1450
never-thrivinga1450
nebulona1475
breelc1485
naughty pack?1534
brathel1542
unsel155.
pelf1551
wandrel?1567
land-loper1570
scald1575
baggage1594
arrant1605
good-for-nothing1611
hilding1611
vauneant1621
idle-pack1624
thimble-maker1654
never-do-well1664
ne'er-be-good1675
shack1682
vagabond1686
shag-bag1699
houndsfoot1710
blackguard1732
ne'er-do-well1737
trumpery1738
rap1742
good-for-naught1773
rip1781
mauvais sujet1793
scamp1808
waffie1808
loose fish1809
ne'er-do-good1814
hard bargain1818
vaurien1829
sculpin1834
shicer1846
wastrel1847
scallywag1848
shack-bag1855
beat1865
rodney1877
git1939
no-hoper1944
piss artist1962
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [noun] > worthlessness > good-for-nothing person
brethelingc1275
filec1300
dogc1330
ribald1340
waynouna1350
waster1352
lorel1362
losel1362
land-leaper1377
triflera1382
brothelc1390
javelc1400
leftc1400
lorerc1400
shackerellc1420
brethel1440
never-thrift1440
vagrant1444
ne'er-thrifta1450
never-thrivinga1450
nebulona1475
breelc1485
naughty pack?1534
brathel1542
carrion1547
slim1548
unsel155.
pelf1551
shifterc1562
rag1566
wandrel?1567
land-loper1570
nothing-worth1580
baggage1594
roly-poly1602
bash-rag1603
arrant1605
ragabash?1609
flabergullion1611
hilding1611
hard bargain1612
slubberdegullion1612
vauneant1621
knick-knacker1622
idle-pack1624
slabberdegullion1653
thimble-maker1654
whiffler1659
never-do-well1664
good-for-nought1671
ne'er-be-good1675
shack1682
vagabond1686
shabaroon1699
shag-bag1699
houndsfoot1710
ne'er-do-well1737
trumpery1738
rap1742
hallion1789
scamp1808
waffie1808
ne'er-do-good1814
vaurien1829
sculpin1834
shicer1846
good-for-nothing1847
wastrel1847
scallywag1848
shack-bag1855
beat1865
toe-rag1875
rodney1877
toe-ragger1896
low-lifer1902
punk1904
lowlife1909
ringtail1916
git1939
no-hoper1944
schlub1950
piss artist1962
dead leg1964
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 355/1 Neve, neuerthryfte, or wastour.
1520 R. Whittington Uulgaria sig. I.ivv Hit is more pleasure for a mayster to se four suche neuer thryftes goo out of his schole than se one to come into hit.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > worthlessness > worthless person > [noun]
ribalda1250
brethelingc1275
filec1300
waynouna1350
waster1352
lorel1362
losel1362
land-leaper1377
javelc1400
leftc1400
lorerc1400
shackerellc1420
brethel1440
never-thrift1440
ne'er-thrifta1450
never-thrivinga1450
nebulona1475
breelc1485
naughty pack?1534
brathel1542
unsel155.
pelf1551
wandrel?1567
land-loper1570
scald1575
baggage1594
arrant1605
good-for-nothing1611
hilding1611
vauneant1621
idle-pack1624
thimble-maker1654
never-do-well1664
ne'er-be-good1675
shack1682
vagabond1686
shag-bag1699
houndsfoot1710
blackguard1732
ne'er-do-well1737
trumpery1738
rap1742
good-for-naught1773
rip1781
mauvais sujet1793
scamp1808
waffie1808
loose fish1809
ne'er-do-good1814
hard bargain1818
vaurien1829
sculpin1834
shicer1846
wastrel1847
scallywag1848
shack-bag1855
beat1865
rodney1877
git1939
no-hoper1944
piss artist1962
society > morality > moral evil > evil nature or character > lack of magnanimity or noble-mindedness > [noun] > worthlessness > good-for-nothing person
brethelingc1275
filec1300
dogc1330
ribald1340
waynouna1350
waster1352
lorel1362
losel1362
land-leaper1377
triflera1382
brothelc1390
javelc1400
leftc1400
lorerc1400
shackerellc1420
brethel1440
never-thrift1440
vagrant1444
ne'er-thrifta1450
never-thrivinga1450
nebulona1475
breelc1485
naughty pack?1534
brathel1542
carrion1547
slim1548
unsel155.
pelf1551
shifterc1562
rag1566
wandrel?1567
land-loper1570
nothing-worth1580
baggage1594
roly-poly1602
bash-rag1603
arrant1605
ragabash?1609
flabergullion1611
hilding1611
hard bargain1612
slubberdegullion1612
vauneant1621
knick-knacker1622
idle-pack1624
slabberdegullion1653
thimble-maker1654
whiffler1659
never-do-well1664
good-for-nought1671
ne'er-be-good1675
shack1682
vagabond1686
shabaroon1699
shag-bag1699
houndsfoot1710
ne'er-do-well1737
trumpery1738
rap1742
hallion1789
scamp1808
waffie1808
ne'er-do-good1814
vaurien1829
sculpin1834
shicer1846
good-for-nothing1847
wastrel1847
scallywag1848
shack-bag1855
beat1865
toe-rag1875
rodney1877
toe-ragger1896
low-lifer1902
punk1904
lowlife1909
ringtail1916
git1939
no-hoper1944
schlub1950
piss artist1962
dead leg1964
a1450 Terms Assoc. in PMLA (1936) 51 604 (MED) A neuerthryuyng of iogulers.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. fvij A Neuer-thriuyng of Iogoleris.
never-was n. colloquial a person who has never been great, distinguished, or useful (often used in humorous contrast to has-been).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > [noun] > one who or that which is unsuccessful > one who is a failure > one who has never been successful
never-waser1891
never-was1911
1911 J. C. Lincoln Cap'n Warren's Wards xv. 238 One of 'em's a used-to-be, and the other's a never-was.
1977 Chicago Tribune Mag. 2 Oct. 48/1 Having or keeping a sense of significance is a problem for those of us whom Archie Bunker once described as ‘has-beens and never-wases’.
1998 W. Coleman Bathwater Wine 119 Better an almost-was..than a never-was.
never-waser n. (also never-wozzer) = never-was n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > [noun] > one who or that which is unsuccessful > one who is a failure > one who has never been successful
never-waser1891
never-was1911
1891 Sportsman 1 Apr. 2/6 He is one of the ‘has beens’ or else one of the ‘never wasers’, as Dan Rice, the circus man, always called ambitious counterfeits.
1929 Psyche Apr. 27 The age when physicians are divided into Has~beens and Neverwozzers.
1990 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 17 Jan. 20/2 This effort was made..by an Italian director and a cast largely composed of has-beens, never-wasers and retirees.
never-weres n. (with plural agreement) people who have never been great, distinguished, or useful (cf. never-was n.).
ΚΠ
1976 Amer. Sociol. Rev. 41 737/1 For the major league perspective, the minor leagues of baseball offer a dreary prospect: has-beens, never-weres, never-will-be's.
2000 Guardian (Electronic ed.) 19 June My reason at present for wishing a quick demise of that team of has-beens and never-weres is that I like Belgium and Holland.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.a1868
adv.int.eOE