Whatsoever
/ˌwɒt.səʊˈev.ər/noun
Whatever; anything or everything that may be specified.
Did you know?Whatsoever is an old English emphatic compound built from *what* + *soever*, and that ending comes from an ancient sense of ‘in whatever way,’ not magic—but it still sounds like a verbal incantation.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
hwæt
“what; which thing”
Old English
OE
swā ǣfre
“so ever; in whatever way”
Middle English
ME
what so ever
“whatsoever; whatever”
14th Century
English
whatsoever
“any thing whatever; used for emphasis or total inclusion”
Modern English
English
whatsoever
“anything at all; used to emphasize totality or negation”