Meanings
- Even in number, not odd.
even-toed, even-numbered, Even-even nucleus
- idiomaticUniform, evenly in quantity.
even-down, even-tempered, even-toned
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*ebnaz“equal, even”
- Proto-West Germanic*ebna-“like-, level, equal-”
- Old Englishefn-“equal, fellow-, co-”
- Middle Englisheven-
- Englisheven-
From Middle English even-, efen-, from Old English efn- (“equal, fellow-, co-”), from Proto-West Germanic *ebna- (“like-, level, equal-”, prefix/combining form), from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz (“equal, even”); same as Old English efn (“equal, even, level”). More at even. Cognate with Scots evin- (“equal-”), Old Frisian ivin-, evn- (“even-”), Dutch even-, Old High German eban- (“even-”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
even-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/even-
“even-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/even-. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “even-,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/even-.
Source: even- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.