whene'er

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɛnˈɛə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Adverb

whene'er (not comparable)

1. (dialectal or poetic, otherwise archaic) Contraction of whenever.
   • 1875, Thomas Payne Westendorf (lyrics and music), “I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen”:

     "Your voice is sad whene'er you speak / and tears bedim your loving eyes."

   • 1884 January 5 (date it opened at the Savoy Theatre), Arthur Sullivan (music), W. S. Gilbert (libretto), Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant:

     Whene'er I spoke / Sarcastic joke / Replete with malice spiteful, / This people mild / Politely smil'd, / And voted me delightful!

   • 2009, Hannah Howell, Highland Champion, →ISBN, page 96:

     “Or mayhap he didnae want the trouble it could bring him whene'er he went home or visited his kinsmen.”

See also

• e'er
• ne'er