# even

Pronunciation: say "EE-vuhn" US /ˈivn̩/, UK /ˈiːvn̩/

## Adverb

1. Used to show that the case mentioned is extreme or unexpected, so the point holds all the more.
   - Simple: Used to stress a surprising or extreme case, as in 'even a child could do it'.
   - _It's cold there even in summer._
   - _She wouldn't tell me, even after I begged._
2. Used to emphasize a comparative; still more.
   - Simple: Used before 'more', 'better', and other comparatives to make them stronger.
   - _The new model is even lighter than the old one._
   - _Prices rose even higher in the spring._
10. Used right after a word or phrase that corrects or strengthens what was just said; rather. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used after a word that corrects or goes beyond what you just said, as in 'six hours, seven even'.
   - _It's a five-hour drive, six even, with the traffic._
   - _She's a good cook, a great one even._

## Adjective

3. Equal in proportion, quantity, size, or chance.
   - Simple: Equal, shared out in the same amounts, as in 'an even split'.
   - _It's an even match, so anyone could win._
   - _The money was divided into even portions._
4. Flat and level, or at the same height or line as something else.
   - Simple: Flat and smooth, or at the same level as something else.
   - _The road was smooth and even after the repairs._
   - _Spread the plaster in an even layer._
5. Of an integer, divisible by two with no remainder.
   - Simple: Describes a number that can be split by two with nothing left over.
   - _Houses on the even side of the street have the larger gardens._
   - _Zero counts as an even number._
7. No longer owing anything to each other, whether money or a wrong paid back; quits.
   - Simple: Not owing each other anything any more, because a debt or a wrong has been paid back.
   - _Once the loan is repaid they will be even._
   - _After I paid back the fifty dollars I borrowed, my sister and I were even._
8. Without great variation; steady and regular.
   - Simple: Steady, staying the same, without big changes.
   - _His breathing was slow and even._
   - _She has an even temper and rarely shouts._
11. Of a number or amount, round and exact, with nothing over or under, typically ending in a zero, as in an even twenty dollars.
   - Simple: Exactly a round number, usually ending in zero, with nothing extra, as in 'an even hundred'.
   - _The bill came to an even twenty dollars._
   - _Let's call it an even million._

## Verb

6. To make things equal or balanced, or to become so, said of a score, a contest, or an uneven distribution; often used with out or up.
   - Simple: To make something equal or balanced, or to become equal, like a score or a spread. Often used with out or up.
   - _Her second goal evened the score just before halftime, and the crowd finally relaxed._
   - _Once the new hires are trained, the workload should even out across the team._
12. To make flat and level; to smooth out.
   - Simple: To make something flat and level.
   - _The workers used a heavy roller to even the gravel path before the guests arrived._
   - _The wind had evened the drifts into a smooth white sheet._

## Noun

13. In informal mathematical use, an integer divisible by two with no remainder.
   - Simple: In math talk, an even number, as in 'two evens and three odds'.
   - _Every even is the sum of two smaller evens or of two odds._
   - _Pick an even and double it._

## Noun

9. The close of the day, between afternoon and night. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: An old or poetic word for evening.
   - _They rested at even beneath the oak._
   - _At even the fishermen drew in their nets._

## Adverb

14. Exactly, just, or fully. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: In old use, exactly, just, as in 'even so' or 'even as I promised'.

## Verb

15. To balance accounts or obligations so that both sides are quits. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: In old use, to settle accounts so that neither side owes anything.
16. To be equal to, to make equal, or to match something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An old word meaning to be the same as something, or to make two things the same.
19. To set right or complete. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: In old use, to put right or to finish something.

## Adjective

17. Wholly free from fault or blemish; pure. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: In old use, without any flaw, pure, as in 'my life so even'.
18. Being a fellow or associate, of the same condition or rank. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: In old use, fellow, of the same rank, as in 'his even servant'.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–8, 10–19** — Old English efn ("flat, level, even, equal") became Middle English even. It goes back through Proto-Germanic *ebnaz to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "equal, flat, level," and Dutch even, German eben, and Swedish jämn are related. The verb developed from Old English efnan, and the adverb from Old English efne.
**Meaning 9** — From Middle English even, from Old English ǣfen, from Proto-Germanic *ēbanþs ("evening"). It is cognate with Dutch avond and German Abend, and is related to the English words eve and evening.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/even (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).