Even

How to spell even

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce even

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does even mean?

1. adverbUsed to stress something surprising or extreme, or to mean 'still' before a comparative.
2. adjectiveFlat and level, or equal and balanced; of a number, divisible by two.
3. verbTo make something level, smooth, or equal.

Even in a sentence

• adverb

  The office stays open even on public holidays.

• adjective

  The builders checked that the new floor was perfectly even.

• verb

  A fresh coat of plaster will even the rough wall.

• adverb

  The second draft was even longer than the first.

• adjective

  After the late goal the score was even again.

• verb

  The late payment helped even the two accounts.

Where does even come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English word, descending from the Old English efen, which meant 'level', 'flat', or 'equal'. It belongs to a wider Germanic family that includes the Dutch even and the German eben, all carrying the same core idea of a smooth, balanced surface. From the literal sense of a flat plane, the meaning broadened to cover equality and balance, so two equal scores or two divisible numbers could both be called even. The adverb use, meaning 'still' or used to stress a surprising extreme, grew out of the same idea of exact correspondence and became common in Middle English. The spelling has stayed remarkably stable, and the trap for adults is simply that the unstressed second syllable sounds like a faint 'uhn', tempting some to drop or alter the final vowel.

How the word is built

• even (whole, native English root meaning level or equal); no affixes, an inherited Old English word