Soever
/soʊˈɛvər/noun
Used after an interrogative or relative word to emphasize that no restriction applies, as in “whatsoever” or “whosoever.”
Did you know?Soever survives mainly inside words such as whatsoever and whosoever, where it acts as an intensifying suffix rather than an independent everyday word.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*só
“So; in that manner or thus”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*aiw-
“Vital force, lifetime, or enduring time”
Old English
Old English
swa + æfre
“So or in that manner + ever or at any time”
Middle English
Middle English
soever
“In whatever manner; to any extent; used with interrogative or relative words”
14th–15th Century
English
whatsoever, whosoever
“Whatever or whoever, with emphasis that no limitation applies”
Modern English
English
soever
“A chiefly formal or archaic intensifying element meaning “at all” or “in any way””