Word Confusion: Every Where versus Everywhere

Posted April 11, 2023 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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Wow, I can’t believe it’s been almost six years since I had my every- spree! And it seems I forgot one. Poor everywhere. So alone. Literally.

Yep, there is no every where in this word confusion. At least not since about A.D. 1150 when it evolved into everywhere.

Pay attention those of you who write historical tales, no every where after that year!

Curious About Other Everys?

If you’re curious about other every closed compound words, you may want to check out “Every Body versus Everybody“, “Every Day versus Everyday“, “Every Man versus Everyman“, “Every One versus Everyone“, “Every Place versus Everyplace“, “Every Thing versus Everything“, and “Every Way versus Everyway“.

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Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Every Where	Everywhere
	Leads Everywhere by Manuel Ernst/UFA is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 Germany license, courtesy of NASA GSFC. — Everywhere you look, there’s ice.
Part of Grammar:
	Adverb; Noun Plural for noun: everywhere
	Adverb: In or to all places In many places Common or widely distributed Noun: All places or directions
Examples:
	Adverb: I’ve looked everywhere. Everywhere she went she was fêted. Dang, there are Starbucks everywhere. Noun: Everywhere was in darkness. They are the same machines used everywhere else in the world. The fair draws people from everywhere.
History of the Word:
Old English gehwǣr.	Middle English, around 1175–1225, the Old English gehwǣr evolved into everihwer, representing two formations: every (every) + hwer (where), and ever (ever) + ihwer (anywhere, everywhere).

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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