Where does “howsoever” come from?
Howsoever comes from English how, so, and ever combined, ultimately deriving from Latin sol meaning sun, though the semantic connection between these elements remains unclear.
howsoever (English): In any manner whatsoever; To whatever degree or...
Definitions
- In any manner whatsoever; To whatever degree or...
Ancestry of “howsoever”, step by step
howsoever traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English soever
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | soever | In any fashion, of any kind; used for emphasis... |
| 2 | English | So | A Mon-Khmer-speaking people of Laos and Thailand;... |
| 3 | English | Sol | The Sun, the star orbited by the Earth |
| 4 | Old French | sol | alone; sol; Old French coin |
| 5 | Latin | solidum | solid |
| 6 | Latin | solidus | solid; A solidus: a Roman ~23-carat gold coin... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | soliðos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | solh₂-i-dʰ-o-s | entire |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | solh₂- | whole |