e'en
4
9.9
An old short word poets use instead of even
- adverb
- /iːn/
- Archaic
:
incluso
- The celebration will begin e'en before the sun sets, as we welcome the new year.
Examples
-
In older times, they would e'en express their feelings through heartfelt letters.
-
The messenger is at our tents e'en now, unloading of his mules.
-
and not e'en two months to learn it in if my eye tells me true.
Fiction book (1992) -
He was e'en more surprised by the results than he had expected after the exam.
Surface Forms
e'en positive
Etymology
E'en is an old contraction of even; poets dropped the middle letters and added an apostrophe to keep the rhythm of a line. So e'en simply means 'even', as in 'evening', and is used in older poems and songs.