ev·er·where ( v  r-hwâr , -wâr)adv. Chiefly Southern U.S. 1. Everywhere. 2. Wherever. Regional Note: Inversion  the reversal of the two halves of a compound wordis a common process in the dialects of the southern Appalachians and the Ozarks. It affects a number of indefinite pronouns (whichever, whatever, whoever) ending in -ever, yielding everwhich, everwhat, and everwho. The commonly occurring everwhere (especially common in Texas) can be an example of inversion when it means "wherever" but illustrates elision of an unstressed syllable in its meaning "everywhere." Other examples of Southern inversion cited by Craig M. Carver in American Regional Dialects are peckerwood, hoppergrass, doll-baby, tie-tongued, doghanged (meaning "hangdog"), and right-out ("outright"). |
How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|