Definition of 'even'
Etymology 1
From (etyl), from (etyl) efen, efn, .
The traditional proposal connecting the Germanic adjective with the root (etyl) ) is problematic from a phonological point of view.[Schaffner, Stefan (2000). “Altindisch amnás'', urgermanisch *''e?na-'', kelt. *''e?no-''.” In: ''Indoarisch, Iranisch und die Indogermanistik. Akten des Kolloquiums der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft vom 2. bis 5. Oktober 1997 in Erlangen , Forssman, Bernhard & Plath, Robert (eds.), Wiesbaden, pp. 491–505. In German.]
Adjective
(
en-adj)
Flat and level.
- Clear out those rocks. The surface must be even .
Without great variation.
- Despite her fear, she spoke in an even voice.
Equal in proportion, quantity, size etc.
- The distribution of food must be even .
(not comparable|of an integer) Divisible by two.
- Four, fourteen and forty are even numbers.
(of a number) Convenient for ing other numbers to; for example, ending in a zero.
* 1989 , , Other People's Money , Act I:
- Coles. How many shares have you bought, Mr. Garfinkle?
- Garfinkle. One hundred and ninety-six thousand.
- Jorgenson. How'd you figure out to buy such an odd amount? Why not two hundred thousand — nice even' number. Thought you liked nice ' even numbers.
* 1998 , paperback edition, ISBN 0060930934, page 253 [http://books.google.com/books?id=28iYykbTIhwC&pg=PA253&dq=even]:
- He put me on the scale in my underwear and socks: 82 pounds. I left, humming all day long, remembering that once upon a time my ideal weight had been 84, and now I'd even beaten that. I decided 80 was a better number, a nice even number to be.
On equal monetary terms; neither owing or being owed.
(colloquial) On equal terms of a moral sort; quits.
- You biffed me back at the barn, and I biffed you here—so now we're even .
parallel; on a level; reaching the same limit
* Bible, Luke xix. 44
- And shall lay thee even with the ground.
(obsolete) Without an irregularity, flaw, or blemish; pure.
* Shakespeare
- I know my life so even .
(obsolete) Associate; fellow; of the same condition.
* Wyclif (Matt.)
- His even servant.
Usage notes
* Because of confusion with the "divisible by two" sense, use of to mean "convenient for rounding" is rare; the synonym round is more common.
Synonyms
* (flat and level) flat, level, uniform
* (without great variation) monotone (voice)
* (convenient for rounding) round
* (On equal monetary terms) quits (qualifier)
Antonyms
* (flat and level) uneven
* (of an integer) odd
Derived terms
* break-even point
* call it even
* doubly even
* even function
* even keel
* even odds
* even-pinnate
* even-steven, even-stevens
* getting even
* of even date
* singly even
Verb
(
en-verb)
To make flat and level.
- We need to even this playing field; the west goal is too low.
* Sir Walter Raleigh
- His temple Xerxes evened with the soil.
* Evelyn
- It will even all inequalities.
(obsolete) To equal.
* Fuller
- to even him in valour
(obsolete) To be equal.
-
(obsolete) To place in an equal state, as to obligation, or in a state in which nothing is due on either side; to balance, as accounts; to make quits.
- (Shakespeare)
(obsolete) To set right; to complete.
(obsolete) To act up to; to keep pace with.
- (Shakespeare)
Synonyms
(to make flat and level ): flatten, level
Derived terms
(
top2)
* an even chance
* break even
* break-even
* even as
* even-handed
* even if
* even-keeled
* evenly
* evenhood
* even money
* even more
(
mid2)
* even out
* even permutation
* even stevens
* even-tempered
* even up
* get even
* of even date
* uneven
(
bottom)
References
Etymology 2
From (etyl) .
Adverb
(-)
Exactly, just, fully.
:
:
*
|title=(The Celebrity)|chapter=1
|passage=He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.}}
*
*:Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers,. Even' such a boat as the ''Mount Vernon'' offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, ' even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either.
*{{quote-book|year=1922|author=(Ben Travers)|title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
|chapter=1 citation
|passage=He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.}}
*{{quote-magazine|date=2013-06-29|volume=407|issue=8842|page=29|magazine=(The Economist)
|title= Unspontaneous combustion
|passage=Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles.}}
:
(lb) Rather.
:
Usage notes
See
Derived terms
* even as we speak
* even so
* even though
* not even
* not even one
Etymology 3
From (etyl) even, from (etyl) . Cognate with Dutch avond, Low German Avend, German Abend, Danish aften. See also the related terms (l) and (l).
Noun
(
en-noun)
(archaic|or|poetic) Evening.
* 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew ch. 8:
- When the even was come they brought unto him many that were possessed with devylles [...].
Synonyms
* e'en (archaic)
* evening
Derived terms
* evenfall
* evensong
Related terms
* (l)
* (l)
Statistics
*