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nev⋅er
[nev-er] 
ər
–adverb
—Idiom| 1. | not ever; at no time: Such an idea never occurred to me. |
| 2. | not at all; absolutely not: never mind; This will never do. |
| 3. | to no extent or degree: He was never the wiser for his experience. |
| 4. | never mind, don't bother; don't concern yourself. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To never
| nev·er (něv'ər) adv.
[Middle English, from Old English nǣfre : ne, not; see ne in Indo-European roots + ǣfre, ever; see aiw- in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Never
Nev"er\, adv. [AS. n?fre; ne not, no + ?fre ever.]1. Not ever; not at any time; at no time, whether past, present, or future. --Shak. Death still draws nearer, never seeming near. --Pope. 2. In no degree; not in the least; not. Whosoever has a friend to guide him, may carry his eyes in another man's head, and yet see never the worse. --South. And he answered him to never a word. --Matt. xxvii. 14. Note: Never is much used in composition with present participles to form adjectives, as in never-ceasing, never-dying, never-ending, never-fading, never-failing, etc., retaining its usual signification. Never a deal, not a bit. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Never so, as never before; more than at any other time, or in any other circumstances; especially; particularly; -- now often expressed or replaced by ever so. Ask me never so much dower and gift. --Gen. xxxiv. 12. A fear of battery, . . . though never so well grounded, is no duress. --Blackstone.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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never
O.E. næfre, compound of ne "not, no" (from PIE base *ne- "no, not;" see un-) + æfre "ever." Early used as an emphatic form of not (as still in never mind); nevermore is first attested c.1205; nevertheless is from c.1300. O.E., unlike its modern descendant, had the useful custom of attaching ne to words to create their negatives, as in nabban for na habban "not to have." It. giammai, Fr. jamais, Sp. jamas are from L. iam "already" + magis "more;" thus lit. "at any time, ever," originally with a negative, but this has been so thoroughly absorbed in sense as to be formally omitted. Phrase never say die "don't despair" is from 1865, originally among sailors. Never mind "pay it no attention" is from 1795. Never Never Land is first attested in Australia as a name for the uninhabited northern part of Queensland, perhaps so called because anyone who had gone there once never wished to return. Meaning "imaginary, illusory or utopian place" first attested 1900 in Amer.Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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never
In addition to the idioms beginning with never, also see better late than never; it never rains but it pours; lightning never strikes twice; now or never; watched pot never boils; wonders will never cease; you never can tell.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
