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A contraction for ever. See Ever.

a contraction of Never.

A person who never does, or fares, well; a good for nothing.

A contraction of what-ever; -- used in poetry. "Whate'er is in his way." Shak.

A contraction of whatsoever; -- used in poetry. Shak.

Whenever.

Wherever; -- a contracted and poetical form. Cowper.

Wheresoever. [Poetic] "Wheresoe'er they rove." Milton.

to give recognition to. In all thy ways acknowledge Him. Prov. iii. 6. By my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee. Shak.

to administer the government or the state. For forms of government let fools contest: Whate'er is best administered is best. Pope.

bring to view or notice; to offer or propose; to show; as, to advance an argument. Some ne'er advance a judgment of their own. Pope.

The mark ['] used to denote that a word is contracted (as in ne'er for never, can't for can not), and as sign of the possessive, singular and plural; as, a boy's hat, boys' hats. In the latter use it originally marked the omission of the letter e.

To soil; to stain. [Obs. or Poet.] Beau. & Fl. Ne'er assoil my cobwebbed shield. Wordsworth.

in firm under (a hardship); to endure; to suffer; to undergo. Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm. Shak.

surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. Whom the winds waft where'er the billows roll. Cowper.

To angle with a bob. See Bob, n., 2 & 3. He ne'er had learned the art to bob For anything but eels. Saxe. To bob at an apple, cherry, etc. to attempt to bite or seize with the mouth an apple, cherry, or other round fruit, while it is swinging from a string or floating in a tug of water.

Versed in books; having knowledge derived from books. [Often in a disparaging sense.] Whate'er these book-learned blockheads say, Solon's the veriest fool in all the play. Dryden.

tion, civility, or assent; to make bow. Admired, adored by all circling crowd, For wheresoe'er she turned her face, they bowed. Dryden.

of brushing, or by passing lightly over, as wind; -- commonly with off. As wicked dew as e'er my mother brushed With raven's feather from unwholesome fen. Shak. And from the boughts brush off the evil dew. Milton. To brush aside, to remove from one's way, as with a brush. -- To brush away, to remove, as with a brush…

To move off; to stir; to walk away. I'll not budge an inch, boy. Shak. The mouse ne'er shunned the cat as they did budge From rascals worse than they. Shak.