# very

Pronunciation: say "VE-ree" /ˈvɛɹi/

## Adverb

1. Before an adjective or adverb, or alone in replies, to a great extent or degree.
   - Simple: To a high degree, as in 'very cold' or 'very quickly'.
   - _It was a very long day._
   - _He drives very carefully._
2. Used before a superlative or a word such as own, first, or last to stress that nothing surpasses it.
   - Simple: Used before words like 'best' or 'first' to make them stronger.
   - _We sat in the very front row._
   - _It was the very last train of the night._

## Adjective

3. The same or identical; that precise one.
   - Simple: Exactly the same one, as in 'the very table'.
   - _She was born in this very house._
   - _Those were his very words._
4. Mere, stressing that the bare idea, thought, or mention of something is enough in itself.
   - Simple: Used to show that just the thought, sight or mention of something is enough to cause a reaction.
   - _The very mention of his name silenced the room._
   - _The very sight of blood makes him faint._
5. True, real, or actual. *(literary)*
   - Simple: True or real, in old or literary style, as in 'a very woman'.

## Adverb

6. Truly, actually, in conformity with fact or rule ('very' as 'verily'); long replaced by the intensifier. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Truly or really, in an old use.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English verray, from Old French verai ("true"), which traces back through Medieval and Classical Latin (vērāgus, vērāx) to Latin vērus ("true"), and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European. It is distantly related to Old English wǣr ("true") and over time replaced several Germanic words meaning "very."

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