Etymograph

English

whatever

Whatever comes from Middle English whatever.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500whatever1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1733whatever1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English whatever
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1733, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man. […]: “And ſpight of Pride, and in thy Reaſon's ſpight,…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500whateverWiktionary, English whatever
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1733whateverWiktionary, English whatever. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1733, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man. […]: “And ſpight of Pride, and in thy Reaſon's ſpight,…”

Every English word from Middle English whatever

Today it means

noun A thing or person whose actual name is unknown or forgotten.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “whatever”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English whatever / whatever

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