/wɒtˈɛː/, U.S. /(h)wəˈtɛr/ (poetic). whateverpron.adj.n.adv.int.
/wɒtˈɛvə/, U.S. /(h)wədˈɛvər/, /(h)wɑdˈɛvər//wɒtˈɛː/, U.S. /(h)wəˈtɛr/ (poetic). A. pron.
1. As a nominal relative introducing a qualifying subordinate clause equivalent to a conditional or concessive clause: no matter what; (frequently implying opposition, equivalent to a conditional clause with though) notwithstanding anything that. Formerly also †with third person singular verb in the subjunctive (e.g. whatever happen ‘if any (sort of) thing happen’, ‘whether one thing or another happen’). Often with ellipsis of the verb (e.g. whatever its merits ‘whatever its merits may be’).Formerly as predicate sometimes (esp. with reference to a person) expressing quality or character, and thus approaching a predicative adjective (as in quots. 1488, a16162). Cf. what adj.1 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [noun] > pronoun indicating no matter what
whatevera1375
whatso1377
whatsoevera1400
whatsomevera1400
whichsoeverc1515
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1560 Al þat trauaile he has tynt, what euer tyde after!
c1390 in F. J. Furnivall Minor Poems Vernon MS (1901) ii. 545 Whon þe þef passeþ quyt a-way, Þe trewe mon haþ schome, what-euer men sai.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 11143 But what euer he had in þouȝt Mis-likyng chere had he nouȝt.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vii. l. 428 Quhat euir he be reskewis off that kyn Fra the rede fyr, him selff sall pas tharin.
1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Cade i Whateuer it were this one poynt sure I know.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. vi. 79 Æne. If not Achilles sir, what is your name? Achil. If not Achilles nothing: Ene: Therefore Achilles, but what ere know this.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iii. i. 100 Take no repulse, what euer she doth say. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. vii. 109 What ere you are That in this desert..Loose, and neglect the creeping houres of time. View more context for this quotation
1623 J. Heming & H. Condell 1st Folio Shaks. A 3 But, what euer you do, Buy.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 162 Whatever doing, what can we suffer more..? View more context for this quotation
1668 J. Dryden Secret-love i. iii. 7 Phil. And yet, there is a thing, which time may give me The confidence to name:—Lys. 'Tis yours whatever.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 378 Mortal, what e're, who this forbidden Path In Arms presum'st to tread, I charge thee stand.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 497. ⁋3 Whether it were from Vanity,..or whatever it was, he carried it so far, that [etc.].
1780 J. Warner in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1844) IV. 342 I am glad to hear you speak of a little horse, whatever his colour be.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lxxiii. 220 So Richard asked her; whatever she said, it wasn't No.
1856 J. H. Newman Univ. Sketches (1902) 191 Men of one idea and nothing more, whatever their merit, must be to a certain extent narrow-minded.
1857 J. W. Carlyle Lett. II. 326 I have had nothing to suffer from heat, whatever else.
1920 Daily Mail 3 Dec. 6/4 The American woodchuck sleeps and wakes by the calendar, whatever the temperature may be.
2003 M. J. Hyland How Light gets In (2004) xxiv. 320 Whatever happens, as long as he stays on the lam, he won't be able to finish school.
2. As a nominal relative, in a generalized or indefinite sense: anything at all which, anything that. Formerly also poetic: †all that, everything that. Occasionally, when subject of the clause, with correlative demonstrative following (and hence close to sense A. 1: compare quot. 1991). Cf. ever adv. 6.
ΚΠ
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 321 Quat euer þe haly gaste wille, Þe fader and sone wil tyte fulfil.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 31 Holdynge ferme & stable what euyr he wolde do ther-with.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 214 Quhat euer sik men dois, jt is comperit to the dede of a beste.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 39 Quhat euer I haif, all that is thyne.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Eij Being mou'd he [sc. the boar] strikes, what ere is in his way. View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd i. 149 Whose constant perseverance overcame Whate're his cruel malice could invent. View more context for this quotation
1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iv. v. 75 It is a Maxim among these Men, That whatever has been done before may legally be done again.
1832 H. Martineau Life in Wilds vii. 88 In a few months we shall have stores of whatever we want.
1883 D. C. Murray Hearts i We'll lay in whatever you want to-morrow.
1918 Commerc. & Financial Chron. 31 Aug. 863/1 I request..that all good citizens do whatever lies in their power to make this Heroes' Day a solemn and impressive tribute to our gallant dead.
1991 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 8 Dec. v. 12/3 Whatever they give us, that's what we're gonna take.
2000 P. Pullman Amber Spyglass (2001) vi. 72 Whatever you need in the way of clerical or secretarial help is yours to command.
3. As an interrogative pronoun, used with emphatic force in place of what in a question (direct or indirect), implying perplexity or surprise. Cf. ever adv. 6c(a). Now colloquial.Apparently not recorded between late Middle English and the 19th century.Chiefly regional in indirect questions.
ΚΠ
a1425 (?a1350) Seven Sages (Galba) (1907) l. 3840 Son, what may al þis noys be..What euer sal it sygnyfy?
?a1425 in Anglia (1904) 27 285 Scho..thoght: what euer menes þis message to me?
a1450 York Plays (1885) 188 Brethir, what euere ȝone brightnes be?
1810 R. Hann Life, Hist. & Adventures of Joanna Southcott 22 It will naturally be asked, whatever could induce the woman to promulgate so strange a doctrine?
1823 Spirit of Public Jrnls. 409 Whatever possessed her, I know no more than the child unborn.
1856 F. E. Paget Owlet of Owlstone Edge xiv. 143 ‘Gracious heart alive, whatever in all the world was that?’ asks one.
1880 M. Oliphant He that will Not xxiii Whatever can you want to emigrate for?
1911 E. Phillpotts Beacon x. 102 I don't know whatever my uncle would say to this.
1982 H. Gardner In Def. of Imagination ii. 27 On the battlefield of Shrewsbury Sir John Falstaff pauses to wonder whatever he is doing there and why he is doing it.
1985 Guardian (Nexis) 15 Jan. (headline) Whatever happened to the nit nurse?
2013 D. Mindrup There's always Tomorrow x. 124 Whatever was that supposed to mean? He wasn't helping matters any.
4. As an indefinite pronoun, without relative function. Cf. what pron. 7.† a. Anything. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > anything > anything at all
whatsoever1579
whatever1637
quicquidlibet1647
whatsomever1648
jack-all1965
jack squat1986
1637 Earl of Monmouth tr. V. Malvezzi Romulus & Tarquin 211 I surely should not put this behinde what ever else.
b. colloquial. Used after or (less commonly and or no conjunction) as a second or (in a list) final item: something similar, some unspecified other thing. Usually following nouns, but occasionally other parts of speech. Sometimes (and in earliest use) followed by else.
ΚΠ
a1654 W. Strong Heavenly Treasure (1656) 372 It may be the great things of this world, honors, preferment, riches, reputation, and whatever else: but still love to Christ, and the interest of Christ overcomes.
1672 W. Salmon Polygraphice i. ii. 9 In drawing of all the aforegoing Forms, or whatever else, you must be perfect..in the exact Proportions.
1796 Laws of U.S.A. II. 170 Describing here, the particular kind of vessel, whether ship, brigantine, snow, schooner, sloop, or whatever else, together with her built, and specifying, whether she has any or no gallery or head.
1892 M. Dods Gospel St. John II. xiv. 218 The torrent bursts in on me and pours over my wasted bulwarks, resolves, high aims, and whatever else.
1895 Methodist Rev. Nov. 989 Hints and heartenings flash abroad by the telling of personal experience, whether religious, literary, commercial, social, or whatever else.
1905 W. James Let. 25 Apr. (1920) II. 225 Poor Professor De Sanctis, the Vice President or Secretary or whatever.
1947 Periodical 27 93 It was in one with a brown (or whatever) cover.
1958 P. Scott Mark of Warrior ii. 167 I'd get on to battalion or brigade, or whatever, and tell 'em.
1966 T. Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 ii. 26 Barbed wire again gave way to the familiar parade of..sealant makers, bottled gas works,..and whatever.
1975 I. Murdoch Word Child 47 And even if we are all thoughts in the mind of God or whatever why should you be able to become God?
1978 G. Vidal Kalki vii. 173 Every bright-faced child on earth is scheduled to die sooner or later, of cancer, legionnaire's disease, swine flu, whatever.
1996 India Today 30 June 53 (advt.) It's a monthly. Where you'll find printed all the stuff that goes round and round in your head. Girls, guys, style, substance, music, movies, clothes, careers, problems, solutions, and whatever else.
2004 C. Connelly Attention All Shipping (2005) 130 There's a full-time mechanic in each station who maintains the lifeboats and keeps the place ticking over, doing odd jobs and whatever.
B. adj. (determiner).
1. As a nominal relative, in a generalized or indefinite sense (with singular or plural noun, of things or persons): any —— at all which (or who), any —— that; sometimes (poetic) all or every —— that. Cf. ever adv. 6.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) Judges xi. 36 Do to me what euer thyng þou hast behotyn.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Ezek. xxxiii. 12 The riȝtwijsnesse of a iust man shal not delyuere hym, in whateuer day he shal synne.
a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 343 (MED) Whatever reasoun men maken of Crist, of Petir, or oþer good ground, it goiþ opinli aȝen sich a pope.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 463 What euer gouernaunce God in his Holi Scripture of the Newe Testament blameth.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 29 Quhateuir thing the handis of men had twechet,..frome al sik thay absteined mony dayes thaireftir.
1692 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. vi. 22 What-ever successive Duration, shall be bounded at one end, and be all past and present, must come infinitely short of Infinity.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Charles I ii, in Wks. (1870) II. 387 They will hear homilies of whatever length Or form they please.
1887 G. Smith in Contemp. Rev. July 3 The Governor-General has been stripped of whatever little authority he retained.
1936 Daily Sketch 17 Nov. 13/4 In visualising a jet-propelled aeroplane of the future, the mind immediately thinks of a large hole in the tail, from which would come a blast of whatever gases were being released.
2014 J. Ellenberg How not to be Wrong ii. 47 Just because we can assign whatever meaning we like to a string of mathematical symbols doesn't mean we should.
2. As a nominal relative introducing a qualifying subordinate clause equivalent to a conditional or concessive clause: no matter what ——; (often implying opposition) notwithstanding any —— that. Also (after a preposition) with ellipsis of the verb: any —— at all (e.g. to have anything you wish and in whatever order; cf. sense B. 3a).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [adjective] > not subjected
whichlOE
whateverc1384
whatsomever1482
whatsoeverc1515
whichever1690
whatso1867
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) 1 John v. 14 What euere thing we shulen axe up his wille, he shal here us.
1412 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 389 That ilke man duelland in the burgh, of wateuer state or conditioun that he be of, sal stand gaird.
1561 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 77 We addict our selfis to the doctrine of na man, of quhateuir leirning and auctoritie he be.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. i. 83 Thrust but these men away, and Ile forgiue you, What euer torment you do put me too.
1692 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. v. 17 What-ever Considerations of this nature you propose to this Atheist,..he hath this one subterfuge from them all.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 142. ⁋10 Money, in whatever hands, will confer power.
1794 W. Paley Evidences (1825) II. 74 Whatever fables they have mixed with the narrative, they preserve the material parts.
1889 Nature 19 Sept. Rocks of whatever origin, crushed and ground to pieces,..reconstruct themselves into new forms.
1906 H. Belloc Hills & Sea 176 In whatever place a man may be the spring will come to him.
2013 Observer 20 Oct. (Food Monthly Suppl.) 50/1 Whatever time of day or night you arrive at Hawksmoor, there's always a drink to sort you out.
3. As an indefinite determiner, with loss of the relative function. singular or plural, of things or persons. Any —— at all, any sort of. Cf. what adj.1
a. Preceding the noun. Cf. what adj.1 5c. Now merged in the elliptical use after a preposition at sense B. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > not specified > of any kind > whatever
whatever1395
whatsomever1429
whatsoever1472
whata1504
whatsoever1589
whatso1902
Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 8 (MED) Prelatis, curatis, and preestis or what euere clerkis shulen not do symonie.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 99 Lete hem not come into what euer examynacioun of argumentis whiche mowe be mad ther upon.
a1652 I. Jones Most Notable Antiq. called Stone-Heng (1655) 15 Accounting it their chiefest glory to be wholly ignorant in whatever Arts.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 442 If thence he scape into what ever world, Or unknown Region. View more context for this quotation
1709 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks II. ii. i. iii. 93 The Bull alone makes head against the Lion, or whatever other invading Beast of Prey.
2012 Newstex Blogs (Nexis) 20 July You can use whatever brand, but the generic is just as good and cheaper.
b. Following the noun. Only in noun phrases containing any, no, anything, nothing, none, or all (now rare): at all, of any kind. Cf. ever adv. 6.In this use whatever functions like an adverb.
ΚΠ
1603 H. Chettle Englandes Mourning Garment sig. C2 Humilitie is Charities sister; they are two twins born at one time, and as they are borne together in any soule whateuer, so do they liue and die together.
1623 N. Rogers Strange Vineyard 78 We see that the Barke of the Vine seemeth more withered and dry than the..Barke of any other Tree whateuer.
1681 J. Chetham Angler's Vade Mecum iv. 35 The most holding Bait of all other whatever.
1718 M. Prior Poems (1905) Dedic. p. xx He was so strict an Observer of his Word, that no Consideration whatever, could make him break it.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. ii. i. 83 I shall not look on myself as accountable to any Court of Critical Jurisdiction whatever . View more context for this quotation
1831 W. Scott Quentin Durward (new ed.) I. xvii. 326 Fortifying her strong castle against all assailants whatever.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House iv. 24 I know nothing whatever of Mr. Jellyby.
1884 Marshall's Tennis Cuts 94 That a player using a racket had no chance whatever against an opponent catching and throwing the ball.
1934 A. C. Ewing Idealism ii. 30 It resembles an inference by incomplete enumeration from the premiss ‘all instances experienced have characteristic x’ to ‘all instances whatever have this characteristic’.
1987 Today's Health Apr. 7/1 Any reasonably good drinking water should have a low content of electrolytes, and pure water has none whatever.
2011 M. Irvine Nucl. Power v. 73 Detailed medical studies have revealed that the cancer clusters had nothing whatever to do with the nuclear nature of the plants.
4. colloquial. As an interrogative adjective, used with emphatic force in place of what in a question, implying perplexity or surprise. Cf. ever adv. 6c(a). Now rare.
ΚΠ
1865 W. S. Banks List Provinc. Words Wakefield 66 Whativver barber's snig'd thy hair i that rooad?
1879 F. A. White Boys of Raby viii. 150 Oh, Erry, whatever noise was that?
1901 Boy's Own Paper 7 Sept. 783/1 My word! whatever bird is that, Up in the old oak tree?
1996 N. West River of Red Gold xxi. 131 ‘Whatever song is that?’ Ma asked.
C. n.
An unnamed or unspecified person, thing, quality, etc. Frequently in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s)
no mannera1393
whatever?1808
stuff1922
shit1934
?1808 S. T. Coleridge Marginalia (1980) I. 772 [Hoties].., whateve [rs,] that is, whatever is written, no matter what, true or false.
1932 A. MacLeish Let. c20 May (1983) 249 You can take some comfort in the fact that..you are making whatever small amt of dough a great poet gets while on this ball of whatever.
1948 E. Pound Pisan Cantos lxxvi. 32 In the synagogue in Gibraltar The sense of humour seemed to prevail During the preliminary parts of the whatever.
1963 Times 8 May 17 (advt.) Astronomical quantities of flawlessly printed whatevers must come fast and fabulous from the press, colour rich and accurate, type crisp and sparkling.
1970 J. Lennon in J. Wenner Lennon Remembers (1971) 31 ‘God’ and ‘Working Class Hero’ are probably the best, whatevers, you know..sorts of ideas or feelings on the record.
2000 L. Reed Pass thru Fire p. xx It's wonderful to this day to see..his attempts to stay relevant in a world geared to the latest whatever.
D. adv.
colloquial (originally English regional (Lancashire), Scottish, and Irish English). Whatever may be the case, at all events, at any rate.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [adverb] > at all events, at any rate
alwayc1405
alwaysa1413
of all hands1548
when all is said and done?1570
after all1590
howevera1616
at all rates1667
at any rate1730
whether or no1784
anyhow1799
anyways1828
anyhows1830
anyway1832
any road1855
anywise1859
whatever1870
any old how1900
anyhoo1924
nohow1926
anyroads1929
1870 ‘R. Piketah’ Forness Folk 15 I cuddent leeave t' pleass whativver wi'out geein' her a showt.
1872 M. MacLennan Peasant Life 2nd Ser. 37 I'll win tae see her; or she'll cam' tae me here. The Hallowmaes fair 'ill bring her tae the town whatever.
1900 ‘A. Raine’ Garthowen 93 She's got a tidy pair of ankles, whatever.
1962 Amer. Notes & Queries 1 15/1 Whatever, from the early 1700s to the present day..it was the musical that struck root as an indigenous form.
1990 S. Jamba Patriots (1992) i. 5 Some said that an Indian shop-owner was the father; others that the Catholic priest was the man. Whatever, Hosi leapt for joy and decided never to have anything to do with Mable again.
2013 M. Lawson Deaths xii. 422 The Red Rev's line inevitably is that they remain a family, whatever.
E. int.
colloquial (originally U.S.). Usually as a response, suggesting the speaker's reluctance to engage or argue, and hence often implying passive acceptance or tacit acquiescence; also used more pointedly to express indifference, indecision, impatience, scepticism, etc.: ‘as you wish’; ‘if you say so’; ‘it makes no difference to me’; ‘have it your own way’; ‘fine’.
ΚΠ
1965 R. Baer Bewitched (transcribed from TV programme) 2nd Ser. Episode 1 Endora. Good Morning, Derwood. Samantha Stephens. Darrin. Endora... Whatever.
1986 D. A. Dye Platoon (1987) iii. 21 Feed any of these guys a full-scale briefing..and you'd get the same response: ‘Yeah, right. Whatever, man, whatever’.
1998 Village Voice (N.Y.) 21 July 28/1 If someone came running to say he'd just seen Jesus preaching on the steps of the 72nd Street subway stop, most New Yorkers would reply, ‘Whatever’.
2020 Financial Times 28 Sept. 20 Business students in the late 1990s, whose response to environmental questions was ‘Yeah, whatever’.
Phrases
With whatever as complement in a finite clause used as a noun; chiefly as a perfunctory designation of something a speaker is reluctant or unable to describe specifically, as in whatever-it-is, whatever-you-call-it, etc. Cf. what-call-ye-him n., what's-his-name n., whatsit n.
ΚΠ
1834 M. A. Shee Cecil Hyde II. vii. 97 As for the mustachios, or whiskers, or whatever you call 'em, it's only my travelling trim, you see.
1849 C. Dickens David Copperfield (1850) v. 53 I forget whether it [sc. an inn] was the Blue Bull, or the Blue Boar; but I know it was the Blue Something... I couldn't hope to remain there when I began to starve. That would obviously be inconvenient and unpleasant to the customers, besides entailing on the Blue Whatever-it-was, the risk of funeral expenses.
1878 H. J. Byron Weak Woman i. i. 12 It is necessary we should have an agent, a man of business—a—whatever it is called, to see to our interests—to look after the estate.
1906 J. London White Fang i. ii. 27 ‘Never seen a red wolf before.’.. ‘Looks for all the world like a big husky.’.. ‘Hello, you husky!’ he called. ‘Come here, you, whatever-your-name-is.’
1915 D. H. Lawrence Let. 12 Feb. (1962) I. 319 The adventure into the unexplored, the woman, the whatever-it-is I am up against.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring ii. ix. 399 The whatever-it-was was coming along fast now and getting close behind Gimli.
1990 K. Amis Folks that live on Hill xvi. 176 A strongly heterosexual man whom she knows to have very serious designs on her whatever-you-call-it.
2008 P. Hensher Northern Clemency 91 She'd..give Nick or whatever-his-name-was a level stare..and, with leisurely disdain, mix herself a Dubonnet and gin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2022; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
pron.adj.n.adv.int.a1375