Whatever
/wʌtˈɛvər/noun
Used to refer to anything or everything of a specified kind, or to express indifference or dismissal.
Did you know?Its dismissive modern use—“Whatever!”—is much newer than its grammatical meaning, emerging prominently in late-20th-century English as a verbal signal of indifference.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kʷo-
“An interrogative and relative-pronominal root meaning “who” or “what””
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*hwat
“What; which thing”
Old English
Old English
hwæt + æfre
“What + ever; any thing or matter whatsoever”
Middle English
Middle English
what-ever
“Whatever; anything that or any thing whatsoever”
16th Century
English
whatever
“A fused pronoun, determiner, or conjunction referring broadly to any thing or circumstance”
20th Century
Modern English
whatever
“Also used independently as an expression of indifference, skepticism, or dismissal”