e'er /ˈɛr, ˈær/
E'er adv. A contraction for ever. See Ever.
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Ev·er adv. [Sometimes contracted into e'er.]
1. At any time; at any period or point of time.
No man ever yet hated his own flesh. --Eph. v. 29.
2. At all times; through all time; always; forever.
He shall ever love, and always be
The subject of by scorn and cruelty. --Dryder.
3. Without cessation; continually.
Note: ☞ Ever is sometimes used as an intensive or a word of enforcement. “His the old man e'er a son?”
To produce as much as ever they can. --M. Arnold.
Ever and anon, now and then; often. See under Anon.
Ever is one, continually; constantly. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
Ever so, in whatever degree; to whatever extent; -- used to intensify indefinitely the meaning of the associated adjective or adverb. See Never so, under Never. “Let him be ever so rich.” --Emerson.
And all the question (wrangle e'er so long),
Is only this, if God has placed him wrong. --Pope.
You spend ever so much money in entertaining your equals and betters. --Thackeray.
-- For ever, eternally. See Forever.
For ever and a day, emphatically forever. --Shak.
She [Fortune] soon wheeled away, with scornful laughter, out of sight for ever and day. --Prof. Wilson.
-- Or ever (for or ere), before. See Or, ere. [Archaic]
Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven
Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio! --Shak.
Note: ☞ Ever is sometimes joined to its adjective by a hyphen, but in most cases the hyphen is needless; as, ever memorable, ever watchful, ever burning.
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e'er
adv : at all times; all the time and on every occasion; "I will
always be there to help you"; "always arrives on time";
"there is always some pollution in the air"; "ever
hoping to strike it rich"; "ever busy" [syn: always,
ever] [ant: never]